


inconvenient enemy

by loretoo



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - College/University, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Enemies to Lovers, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2019-06-05 12:35:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 25,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15170885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loretoo/pseuds/loretoo
Summary: Lu Han is an alpha, and he hates omegas. Even their smell repulses him.Kim Minseok is an omega, and he's a rebel with a cause. A defender of omegas' rights.What will happen when both of them run for the presidency of the students counsil?





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> sorry I took so long to repost this, but by popular demand... here it is!

* * *

 

Lu Han walks down the corridors of his campus, leading his group of friends towards the cafeteria. On the way, he catches the smell of omegas lingering in the air and he almost loses his appetite.

He drops himself into a chair, and with a despective tone and probably too high in volume so anyone near them could hear, he starts complaining.

“They shouldn’t allow omegas into this school, seriously.”

His friends are used to this, and some of them even agree. But Yixing, the only beta of their group, is always the one raising his head and calling him off. “That’s very discriminatory, Lu Han.”

“I don’t care. We can’t afford being distracted by their heats and their hormones. If they want to study they should do it at home.”

“I wouldn’t mind being distracted by one or two cute omegas I have my eye on.” Sehun jokes.

“Neither would I,” Chanyeol laughs. “How can you not like them, Han? It’s nature!”

“And have you smelled an omega in heat?” Yifan adds this time. “My mouth is watering just thinking about it.”

“Disgusting.” Lu Han wrinkles his nose in distaste.  “And you are all indirectly agreeing with me, aren’t you? You only want omegas to mate. Everybody knows they are dumb anyways.”

Yixing sends him a nasty look, but he doesn’t say anything in return.

 

Lu Han is majoring in law, just like his father. He’s the eldest child, so there are big expectations on his shoulders on taking the firm and continuing his grandfather's legacy, and he can’t be any more proud.

He doesn’t know when or how his hatred for omegas began, but after seeing friends failing tests for helping omegas with their heats, or leaving college to work and support their family, he became convinced that omegas are a disease. A plague. Inside his house, no omegas are allowed. All of his servants are betas, and it’s just that the smell of them is so repulsive to Lu Han, he personally asked his father to fire all of them. He assumes it’s something biological, because it shouldn’t be like that. He’s an alpha, and someday it will be expected for him to find someone to settle with and have a heir, but to be honest he would rather adopt than mate with one of those… things.

To Lu Han, academic success is the most important thing, and he doesn’t understand what the hell are omegas doing here, studying with them, if at the end of the day the only thing they care about is being pretty enough so an alpha will want them and support them.

They are pathetic.

  
  
Professor Joonmyun’s class is Lu Han’s favorite. Not only because Joonmyun’s lame jokes are actually really funny, or because he always wants his students to state their opinions. And Lu Han is damn good at that.

“It’s nature, professor. We, alphas, are born to maintain our partner, right? Then I don’t understand how can omegas have the same privileges, when it’s not their place to be here. They are a danger to us and to our learning environm—”

“You know what’s dangerous? Alphas going around the omegas’ dorms when we have many of them in heat, and they are in no capacity to deny any sexual advances! _That’s_ dangerous and _that’s_ sexual assault!”

Lu Han doesn’t have to turn around to know who’s the owner of the irritated little voice at the back of the classroom, but he does anyways, and he’s met with a familiar pair of angry eyes staring at him.

It’s no one else than Kim Minseok.

Lu Han’s nemesis.

“Well, there’s a thing called a lock on your doors, that you can use when you _omegas_ go into heat. And if an alpha mates with one of you then it’s because the omega _invited him_ , or they so casually let their doors open.”

“An alpha's’ scent clouds the minds of the omegas in heat! But it’s scientifically proven that alphas do have some kind of sense of control. You are using that advantage against us and that has no other name than ra—”

“Oh, please. Omegas beg for it and often they even mate for life! Are you going to deny that’s your main goal here?”

“Maybe for some of them, and that is no reason to judge them, either. But there’s a large group of students that come here to learn and to become someone by themselves, without having to depend on an alpha, and that dream is being crashed by the inequitable politics in this university, and disrespectful alphas that sneak into the doors without permission!”

Lu Han feels like there’s steam coming out of his ears, just for listening to Kim Minseok talk.

“Okay! Students! This is a very interesting topic to discuss here, but we must continue with the class. You two, as always, can continue with this argument outside, okay? Moving on, can someone tell me what important law for omegas’ civil rights passed in 1995?”

With an angry sigh, the petite and infuriated omega sits down again, and immediately raises his hand to answer.

“The right to vote, Mr Kim.”

 

***

  
  


The news that Minseok is running for student council president reaches Lu Han’s ears just a few hours after it’s official.

Kim Minseok has always been a character in their campus. Always discussing with the professors, always defending his ideas, always promoting campaigns and movements for the omegas’ rights. Lu Han thinks he’s wasting his time, but he still respects his enthusiasm. A little bit.

“Can’t you see it, Han?” Sehun asks him horrified, as he walks beside him towards the lockers. “If Kim Minseok wins, he’s going to turn this school into our worst nightmare!”

“He’s not going to win, Sehun. Has he ever accomplished anything other than a couple of columns on the university's paper?” Lu Han scoffs.

“Well, last thing I heard is that Kim Jongin and all his beta friends are going to support him. That’s why he enrolled in the first place, because he knows he has a chance! And no one is going to vote for Jaejoong, that guy is stupid as fuck!”

“Well, what do you want me to do?” Lu Han opens his locker and takes out his gigantic textbook for his next class.

“You should enroll, too! You would win in a heartbeat!” Sehun lifts his arms, and there’s a dreamy look in his eyes as he pictures the scene. “You could convince everyone so we could have separate classrooms, bathrooms, senior dorms specially for alphas… anything!”

“I don’t know, Sehun… I don’t really have a lot of time—”

“Just think about it, okay? Think about this school with Kim Minseok as the president, and then picture it with you as the president. You have three days to decide!”

  
  
On his way to class, Lu Han considers it. He mentally checks his agenda, his classes and his free time. Thinks how being president would affect his academic performance, and it suddenly seems like a really good idea. He could write in his curriculum that he was president in university, not something anyone can claim. His name would be known in the political world before he even graduates. He could actually do some changes around, he could impress his father by having real and important responsibilities unrelated to the firm.

This could be Lu Han’s own success. His chance to shine by his own means.

And on top of all, he could royally annoy Kim Minseok.

He doesn’t need three days to decide.

After his class is over, he walks to the principal building, and he enrolls his name as a candidate. And before he even understands what’s happening, Sehun is hugging him in the middle of the cafeteria and claiming Lu Han as “our next president”, raising his hand between loud claps and excited yells of support.

“This is awesome,” Sehun’s eyes are shining. “I’ll manage your campaign and I promise you, we’ll win.”

  
  


***

 

After all the fuss dies down, Lu Han goes back to his room to get some study done. He is immersed in the three old and heavy books he took from the library, post it notes and notebooks all over his desk, when a loud knock on his door interrupts him quite rudely. He takes off his earphones and goes to open it, pissed and wondering who would come looking for him at eleven at night, only days before one of his most important tests.

As soon as he opens the door, Kim Minseok is pushing him inside with a finger hardly pressed against his chest.

“Are you fucking serious?! You fucking enrolled to run for president?!” his voice is furious, even more than when they have their discussions in professor Kim’s class.

“How dare you walk into my room like this?!” Lu Han is more than angry, not only for how disrespectful this dumb omega is being to him, but for the fact that his room will stink of omega for the rest of the night and he won’t be able to concentrate.

“How can you be president when you prefer a group of students over the other ones? What are you, a dictator?! If you are president you have to be representative of all of them!”

“Right, because you will represent alphas so well. Don’t lie to yourself, Kim Minseok. The only thing you care about are omegas rights, you hate alphas… well, that is until you go into heat and beg them to fuck you.”

“You don’t know anything about me, Lu Han. And believe it or not, I do not think omegas are superior to aphas or viceversa. I think we can have an equal treatment, something that is far from happening in this university, and that it will be even harder if you win!”

“Oh, please… are you actually serious?! I won’t fall for those petty arguments, Minseok. I’m in all my right to run for anything I fucking want, and if I win, I will do it fairly and because the majority of the students will want me to be their president.”

They stare at each other for long seconds, and Lu Han doesn’t have time to think how or when they got this close to each other. Minseok never lowers his eyes.

“Fine, then. You promised a fair fight, I’ll take it. But if I find out you are using your money or your father’s influence to win this, I will fucking destroy you.”

He turns around and leaves, slamming the door and making the walls shake.

Lu Han goes back to his books, too annoyed to notice the sweet scent lingering in the air.

* * *

 


	2. Body

“Attention, everyone!” Sehun calls from his spot next to Lu Han inside the empty classroom. Their entire team is reunited to organize Lu Han’s campaign, and since the alpha completely refused any suggestion of asking his dad for any help, their job would be a little harder. “First Lu Han wants to say something, right?”

“Yes. I want to thank you, every single one of you, for coming and for showing your support. This campaign couldn’t be possible without any of you.” He smiles as politely as he can. “As you all know, Sehun will be the one in charge of this entire process, so you can completely trust him and his judgement.”

With that said, Sehun claps his hands and urges Lu Han to sit down.

“Let’s begin! I’ve separated this campaign into three main branches. The first one, publicity. Yifan will be in charge of all that. We’re gonna take a couple of good pictures, create accounts in every single social network there is, and create an interesting logo.”

Yifan, the graphic designer major, furiously writes in his notebook at Sehun’s commands.

“Next. Preparation for the debates and interviews. Chanyeol and Minho will be in charge of giving you the best coaching you can get. God knows Kim Minseok is good with words, and does he have one and a million arguments, but he won’t stop us. And, last but not least: actions. We need to show our students how having Lu Han’s as a president will help them. That part will be directed by me.”

“We thought actions could be a couple of parties, plenty of food and drinks to show the students they are going to have fun, but also more serious things, like… I don’t know, collecting more books for the library, helping the poor… Those kind of things people only do for the show and to post it on Facebook, you know?” Lu Han says and there’s a collective laugh in the room.

“I was thinking Yixing could help me with that but… apparently he couldn’t make it. Does anyone know where he is?” Sehun asks.

“Sick.” Yifan, Yixing’s roommate replies.

“Oh, I see. Anyways, I think we have everything to win this. Minseok is good, that’s true. But everybody knows this school is basically made of alphas, and they won’t want an omega as a president. Actually, we could have a fourth branch. A group specialized in showing everybody that omegas are untrustworthy, cheating bastards that run away with the first alpha that crosses them when they are in heat, disgusting and—”

Lu Han stands up and grabs the younger’s arm. “Sehun. That’s enough.” And then, he looks at his group of friends. “I think we are done for today, guys. Any questions?”

  
  
***

  
Gems like _‘I just don’t speak the change, I make the change’_ and _‘Feel like you should have a say? Vote Minseok today!’_ were just a couple of Minseok’s slogans glued next to his face all over campus. Lu Han had to admit, they did a good job making the petite omega look strong and smart in his propaganda. Both things Lu Han was more than sure Kim Minseok was not. But to him, the red background and staring into the distance as some kind of martyr was a little too much. What was he? A communist?

Lu Han shrugged his shoulders and kept walking. Their first interview was going to get streamed through their campus’ radio, and even if it was taking place in just a few days, the alpha felt more than ready. Chanyeol and Minho were both great coaches. They had an incredible sense with words and neither of them were afraid in refuting Lu Han over and over until he wanted to rip his hair out.

This was only an innocent interview, though, but Sehun recommended that he should refute Minseok everytime he got the chance. He was sure Kim Minseok was going to do the same thing. This was war, and war is won one battle at a time.

  
  


The day of the interview, Lu Han and Minseok sit at their usual spots on Kim Joonmyun’s classroom. The class, for the first time since the beginning of the semester, went smoothly until the end, with no random fights about every single topic the professor talked about.

As the students were leaving the classroom, he saw Minseok walking to the recording studio in their campus, where the radio shows were broadcasted.

“Hey, Kim.” he smiled, catching up to him and walking besides him. “Ready for our first little debate?”

“It’s not a debate.” Minseok deadpanned, not even glancing at Lu Han.

“Oh, I’m sure you and I will find the way to turn it into one.”

Minseok doesn’t reply.

“Now this is new, Kim Minseok with no words. I wonder if I’ll be able to do that during the interview.” he smiled mockingly.

“Save your breath, Lu Han. You wouldn’t want to waste every snarky reply here where no one can hear you, right? After all, you live for the attention.” Minseok gave a sickeningly sweet smile to Lu Han, but before the alpha could reply, he was already going inside the radio’s room.

  
  


“Good afternoon, listeners! My name is Kai and welcome to another delightful episode of our weekly radio show ‘Zero Tolerance’, the only radio show exclusively about campus’ news. Today, our three candidates for student council president sit here next to me. Kim Minseok, list A, how are you today?”

“Hello, Kai. I’m very happy to be here.”

“Thank you for coming. Kim Jaejoong! List B! Welcome!”

“Thank you, Kai!”

“And last but not least, Lu Han. List C! How is it going?”

“It’s going great, Kai, thank you for having me.”

“Great! Let’s start with the first question of the day. Since our show is quite short, we can only afford one question per candidate. Our team selected this through our Twitter, are you ready?”

“Yes!”

“More than ready.”

“Great! This candidates are very energetic, ladies and gentleman! The first question is for Jaejoong. You are an alpha, right? But in your campaign you defend betas as well, very enthusiastically, I would say. Where does this come from? Is it only a marketing strategy?”

“Not at all, Kai. You see, my girlfriend is a beta. And betas are often looked less, almost like they weren’t good enough to be alphas. I want to represent betas as well, for her and for everybody else who feels that way.”

“And what about omegas?”

“What about them?”

“Why does your campaign only focus on betas but not omegas? Don’t you think they have a similar problem?”

“Oh, not at all. Omegas are seen and treated as what they really are. I don’t see the point. They were made to bear children, and the law protects them for that sole reason. Not like betas. Betas are in a weird limbo between being a broken omega and a broken alpha at the same time, you see?”

“Uhm, that’s… okay… everybody has different opinions! Moving on, next question is for our list C candidate, Lu Han! Here’s the question, what is your vision on what this university should become? What are your priorities and how would you start if you were elected president?”

“I think my priorities are very clear, and anyone close to me could agree. I think the most important thing is to turn this university into what it once was. A safe and ideal place to study. I think the reason we are all here is to become the best in our fields, right? And I respect anyone with that intention, but there are certain… distractions right now that we can’t afford.”

“Excuse me, Lu Han, but by ‘returning the university to what it once was’, do you perhaps mean, to when omegas weren’t allowed here?”

“I won’t lie to you, Kai. That is one of the many things that I would like to change.”

“But… isn’t there a big community of omegas here, in our campus?”

“There is!”

“Yes, there is. Thank you, Kim Minseok. You look a little red in the face, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“You can have some of my water, if you want. And to the question, Kai, I know there is a big community of omegas and I want to tell them right now that I do not hate them and I do not want to kick them out, I just simply want to set things apart. You know? Alphas in one place, omegas in other. That way, everybody is happy, everybody is safe… that’s it.”

“Wow, that’s a quite radical vision you got there, Lu Han. Thank you for your honest answers. And now, to our last candidate. Kim Minseok, what were your main motivations to run for president? How was the process and, same as Lu Han, what would be your main goal if you were to become president?”

“I have always been a very active person, Kai, during all my life. Since a very young age I’ve seen how unfair this society is for omegas, betas and even some alphas. And since a very young age I’ve felt like I should do something to change it, instead of sitting there with my arms crossed, watching how injustice happens before my own eyes. My main goal is to show everybody that omegas can be as smart as alphas and betas. I want to show that an omega president is possible, and that I will truly represent you. As for more practical goals, I want to change the professors’ mentality about us and about our academic worth, and legally protect omegas’ rights.”

“Can I ask you more about those personal reasons, Minseok? I’m intrigued.”

“Well, it’s… very personal, Kai. But this is what I can tell you: In the news, they don’t even show half of the atrocities happening in our cities. And the worst thing of all, many of the same people reading the news on television blame the victim or give the public that ‘judge for yourself’ kind of vibe. I think that’s unjustifiable. I’ve seen awful things happening to my family, and then everybody, even our friends, giving us the excuse of ‘it’s because you are all omegas’. How is that not fair, Kai?”

“Why won’t you tell the audience, Minseok? How much more do you have to talk to come up with a sad enough story for the people to believe you?”

“Lu Han, I’m asking the questions toda—”

“I’m not hiding anything, Lu Han. I said it was personal and I don’t think—”

“Okay, okay. I understand… You can stop getting all red in the face. You should really try to calm yourself, you know? Have you tried yoga? I heard that helps.”

“Why are you always so… Do you really want to know what happened? Are you sure?! Well, open your spoiled rich-brat ears, then! My mother was a maid at an alpha’s mansion. We lived there, with all the other maids. Me and my sister were allowed there, because we didn’t have anywhere else to go. She was sixteen when she went into her first heat, and you know what happened, Lu Han? My mother’s boss raped her, knotted her and impregnated her, and then, he fired my mom and left us in the streets. My sister felt so miserable, so guilty, she—”

“Minseok…”

“She killed herself, Lu Han! She… she killed… herself…”

  
  


***

  
  
  


Once they are off the air, Minseok immediately stands up and begins collecting his things. His eyes are red and his hands are shaking. Lu Han is too ashamed to look up at the petite omega, and when he finally does, he regrets it immediately. Lu Han has never seen Kim Minseok look so weak before. So broken. But somehow, in the alpha’s eyes, he looks even stronger than all the other times they fought in Kim Joonmyun’s class.

Lu Han is sure his entire team is waiting for him outside to review the interview, to give him advices and to tell him what people are talking about. However, Minseok’s hard features intrigue him, and he thinks he has never felt this guilty over something before. Ever.

He hates it.

“Kim, I-”

“Save it, Lu Han.” Minseok says, not even glancing at the alpha. “I thought half of the things you usually say were just bullshit, you know? Exaggerations of what you really believe to call the attention to yourself and your alpha friends.” He puts on his heavy backpack and finally looks at him. “But I’m very used to disappointment.”

Lu Han stays there for a long moment after the omega leaves.

“Lu Han, we are closing.” Jongin, Kai’s real name, says as he shakes Lu Han’s shoulder to wake him up from his stupor.

“Do you smell that?” Lu Han says instead.  

“Uh?” the radio locutor asks dumbly.

“That smell… can you sense it?”

“I can’t smell anything, man.”

Lu Han is sure there’s a weird smell, something he has never felt before, but the dumb face on Jongin’s face irks him. “Ugh, just… forget it.”

  
***

  
  


Minseok’s campaign consists in opening people’s eyes. He distributes pamphlets talking about omega’s rights, about what he wants to do and testimonies of omegas that have been raped or terribly discriminated.

“This is bad.” Sehun says. “I mean, in the last poll Minho did we are still winning but Kim Minseok is getting dangerously close. There’s a group of alphas supporting him, plus most of the beta community. We need to do something, Lu Han. We need to discredit him, maybe find out something about him that will make people stop believing every pathetic story he comes up with.”

“What do you mean? He didn’t lie about his sister, Sehun. I saw him, it was real.”

“Well, yeah… not that one. But I’m sure Minseok is not the saint everybody thinks he is. I’m sure he has something hidden somewhere… And I will find out. I’ll destroy him, Lu Han. For you...” Sehun is staring at Lu Han with a crazy stare, and to be honest, Lu Han is quite scared. “We can’t have an omega as a president, Lu Han, no matter how sad his story is. I would rather quit this fucking college than have an omega as our president. He’s disgusting, and I’m going to rip him apart.”

“Sehun.” Lu Han says, touching his friend’s face. “Calm down.”

The blond alpha seems to wake up from whatever it was that had him like that. “I—”

“I shouldn’t have done this to you. I shouldn’t have put you as the one in charge of my campaign. Is it because of Zit-”

“Do not say his name.”

“Sehun, please. Look at you. You are not well. I thought you were over it, but destroy Kim Minseok? Ripping him apart? What are you saying, Sehun? This is not… this is not the sweet kid I became friends with when I got here.”

“Zitao killed that sweet kid, Lu Han. He killed him at the same time he—”

“I want you to step out of this campaign. At least until you feel like your personal issues won’t interfere.”

Sehun doesn’t say anything in return. He holds Lu Han’s eyes, he swallows heavily and turns to leave. Lu Han sighs out loud when he’s out of sight. He knew he did the right thing. If Sehun kept tangled in all of this, he could fall into a deep pit of hatred that could bring consequences to his mental health. Lu Han never understood what really happened between Sehun and his ex-boyfriend, other than the omega leaving Sehun for someone else, and running away to China.

He doesn’t really care. He doesn’t need to know what happened. Tao was an omega. And that’s what omegas do, right? Suddenly, Kim Minseok’s voice resonates inside his head. ‘She killed herself!’ it says. Lu Han shudders, as he tries to shake away the memory.

When he turns around to go back to his room, he collapses with someone hard enough for all the papers the person was carrying to fall outrageously into the floor.

“Shit, sorry!” he says. Lu Han bends down to pick it all up, when he realizes it’s Kim Minseok’s propaganda. Hundreds of small pamphlets with the omega’s face on them. He looks up to see the owner of all of this, and who he finds freezes his blood.

“ _Yixing_?”

“Hey, Han.” The beta’s cheeks are pink, and he is not looking up at Lu Han.

“What’s… this?” Lu Han asks. Yixing is picking up all the small papers and shoving them inside his bag. “Are you serious, Xing? You are working for Kim?”

“Sorry, Han. I… I want him to win. I share his opinions, and I think he would represent me better.”

“Better? I am one of your closest friends! You are my chinese mate! What the fuck?!”

“Lu Han, I know. And I’m still your friend, believe me. This is something different, this is politics…”

“Oh, don’t bring up that bullshit now, Yixing! This is betrayal. You were there, the day I enrolled! You clapped and hugged me and congratulated me! And now you are walking around with this… crap.”

“Consider it crap, I don’t care. And I’m sorry that you feel like I betrayed you. But I think you should listen to yourself when you talk, Lu Han. That day, at the radio show, I opened my eyes. I realized you think you can do whatever it takes, step over whoever you need to get where you want. Well, life isn’t like that. Maybe it’s hard for you to see because you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, but for the rest of us… that’s violence.”

They stare at each other for long seconds. Lu Han doesn’t have it in him to keep fighting with his with friends, or who he thought were his friends. He simply shakes his head and turns around.

When he gets to his room, he feels completely drained. Maybe enrolling to run for president wasn’t the best idea ever. Maybe he’s not really made for this. He lets himself fall into his bed, and he realizes he still has one of Yixing’s pamphlets tightly grabbed in his hand.

Kim Minseok’s smiling face stares at him from the picture. He looks softer than he looked in his other propaganda, strong and ready to fight. In here, he looks like a docile and friendly candidate, with a simple white sleeveless sweater and a white shirt underneath. He looks like the epitome of purity and perfection, with his pretty and dark eyes—

Wait.

What is Lu Han thinking? Did he just…

No.

He turns around, pushes the paper inside his nightstand, and turns the light off. Lu Han dreams of cute mouths curved down in anger, sweet scents and teary eyes.

  
  
  


***

  
  


Lu Han’s dad is taller than his son, his voice is deeper and his back is broader. Lu Han always saw him as a superhero, when he was little, and he still does. When Lu Han feels lost, he goes back to his father.

“Hey, dad. Thanks for coming.”

“I was on my way to Russia, but when my only sons calls me for help, then here I am! How are you? I heard you are running for students council, how’s that going?”

Lu Han sighs. “Actually, not that good. I mean, I’m still winning, but… I’ve realized some things that have made me really confused.”

“Ah, adulthood, my son. Always making us realize the worst of our closest friends.”

“How can you stay true to your beliefs in something like this, dad? I already want to quit and I haven’t even win yet.”

“That’s where our strength as men lies, Lu Han. And especially as alphas. Your rival is an omega, right? Then you shouldn’t worry so much! Omegas are known to be manipulative, but that means they are also very smart. Since he can’t beat you, he’s doing everything so you will quit. You need to be stronger than them.”

“It’s just that sometimes I think… that maybe I’m wrong about some things.”

“Wrong? There’s nothing wrong in the way you think, my son. I read your arguments for this campaign, and I couldn’t feel more proud. That’s exactly how I raised you, Lu Han. You want to create an ideal society inside your campus, I don’t understand why people wouldn’t that. When I was your age, I did—…”

But suddenly, Lu Han’s father’s voice fades into the background, when Lu Han’s eyes fall on a person sitting on the opposite corner of the restaurant.

It’s Kim Minseok, and he’s smiling pleasantly as he talks with someone. From here Lu Han can tell the other person is an alpha, even if he can only see his broad shoulders and the back of his head. Minseok’s smile is very different from the one Lu Han saw in the pamphlet. This smile is sweeter and unrestrained, and Lu Han’s fist clenches in rage.

He doesn’t understand this reaction and he doesn’t want to understand, either. But the fact that the omega is there, sitting in a romantic date with another alpha makes Lu Han want to stand up and rip their heads off.

The explosion of a cup breaking catches his attention, and the voice of his father calling his name is the thing that finally  makes Lu Han to stop sending curses to the omega and his date.

“Lu Han! Your hand!”

The alpha looks at his hand and he finds blood. He was the one that broke the cup and he didn’t even notice. There’s a cut on his palm, not very deep but it’s bleeding a lot. He uses a napkin to stop the bleeding, and with care he raises his eyes up again to see if Kim Minseok realized he was here. But the omega is whispering something to the other alpha in the ear, and right after he’s standing up and making his way to the bathroom.  

“I’ll go to the bathroom to wash my hand.” Lu Han says, leaving his father alone in the table with a couple of waiters cleaning the mess.

  
  


“Hello, Minseok.”

The omega jumps a little in his spot when he hears the familiar voice. He looks at Lu Han through the mirror.

“Lu Han.” he replies.

“Fancy meeting you here. I was having a pleasant dinner with my father when I saw you across the restaurant. I’ll begin to think you are following me.”

“Oh, believe me. I’m not.” Minseok dries his hands in one of the towels and turns around to face Lu Han. The alpha can’t help but notice how remarkably beautiful he looks tonight. He’s dressed to kill, obviously and he’s even wearing makeup around his eyes. Then, the other alpha comes into his mind and the fact that Minseok dressed this good for _him_ , makes Lu Han’s blood boil.

“Hot date tonight?”  Lu Han walks closer, until he’s barely inches apart from the omega. Minseok is wearing perfume but it’s not enough to cover the other scent, the one Lu Han’s been sensing everytime he runs into him, and that now it feels stronger than ever.

“Yes.” Minseok admits, holding Lu Han’s gaze. “Jealous?”

“I was just wondering… you know? Kim Minseok. The omegas martyr, defender of their rights, dressing like a slut for an alpha in a fancy restaurant. What would your fans have to say about that?”

Minseok’s face falls at Lu Han’s words. “I’m not doing anything wrong. Stop mixing my personal life with—”

“If you aren’t doing anything wrong then you wouldn’t mind me posting some pics of you on the internet, right? Whispering in the alpha’s ear, smiling innocently like the cute and docile omega you really are.” Lu Han is whispering in Minseok’s ear and both their breaths flatter at the proximity and the _smell_ , that makes both of them want more but at the same time push each other away and _fight_.

Lu Han presses his bleeding hand against Minseok’s neck, and with his thumb he manhandles his small face so their lips are so, very dangerously close. The alpha knows this is wrong. He knows he shouldn’t be saying this things to Minseok but he can’t stop himself. He’s so angry and so confused, the only thing he wants is to hurt him.

“You are the same as the rest of them. Needy, weak. You are pathetic. I don’t give a shit about your sad little story. I bet you are with that alpha because your heat is coming, am I right?” Minseok’s little whine of surprise is confirmation enough. “Huh, I knew it. Pretty soon you are going to be on fours, begging for him to take you… just like your sister did.”

The moment the words leave Lu Han’s mouth, he regrets them. He went too far. And Minseok’s eyes, wet in tears of rage, confirm it. Minseok may be smaller, but the way he pushes Lu Han off him makes the alpha question how strong his petite body is under those tight clothes. Lu Han’s head slams against the wall when the omega pushes him against it, fists tightly grabbing the alpha’s expensive shirt.

“Don’t you dare mention her!” he yells. His voice is full of anger and pain, and it makes Lu Han feel one hundred times worse than what he felt in the radio show. “You know nothing about me, about what I’ve been through, and I won’t let a spoiled fuck stain my sister’s memory like that! Fuck you!”

He slams Lu Han against the wall one more time, and this time the alpha's knees shake and he can’t hold himself up. Minseok leaves the bathroom in a hurry, forgetting he had his neck stained in the alpha’s blood. With a shaky hand, Lu Han touches the back of his head and he feels warm and sleek liquid between his hair.

He’s sure he deserved it.

  
  
  


***

Lu Han was expecting to run into Minseok at Joonmyun’s class, but the omega was nowhere to be found. The alpha really wanted to apologize. More to himself, really, and to be able to sleep at night without Kim Minseok’s teary eyes waking him up everytime. He knew what he did was wrong, and it was in no way justifiable even if they were in a presidential career.

The alpha walked to the senior’s dorms, the only ones in the entire campus that weren’t exclusively for alphas, betas or omegas.

He knew Minseok lived on the last floor, and he made his way there taking special care in hiding from anyone. The last thing he needed right now was a fucked up rumor about him and Minseok.

When he reached the last floor, it was deserted and he had no idea which one was Minseok’s room. _Great plan, Lu Han._ Now everybody will know he was here if he goes knocking on every door asking for Minseok.

He takes a deep breath, and there it is.

The smell.

It’s stronger than ever. That sweet smell that’s been following him, it’s luring him and making his legs move on their own accord. Lu Han feels his mouth watering, his eyelids feeling heavy and his… dick hardening?

When he gets to the door where the smell comes from he tries to open it without thinking about anything else than getting to the source. It’s locked. He knocks instead, begging, praying the person on the other side to open it. He’s desperate, he has never felt this way before and he’s a little scared by how out of himself he feels.

Someone is unlocking the door, and then they open it wide. It hits Lu Han like a ball of fire. He barely has time to register the person standing on the other side is Minseok, looking completely wrecked. He’s sweating, with just a thin and oversized t-shirt on. His pupils are dilated and he’s breathing heavily through his mouth.

Minseok’s in the peak of his heat.

“Help me.” he moans, and it’s everything Lu Han needs to jump on top of him.

* * *

 

 


	3. Supporting details

* * *

 

Lu Han goes straight for Minseok neck. He’s drowning in his scent. Minseok smells so exquisite, so intoxicating, Lu Han barely has time to register his moans and pleas for more. In that exact moment, the omega has never looked more beautiful to the alpha. His clouded eyes, his messy hair and his sweaty forehead look like a work of art, and Lu Han can’t get enough of it.

They fall to the bed. Minseok is whimpering and moaning unrestrainedly under Lu Han’s touch. Soon, Lu Han realizes Minseok is only wearing the shirt. His lower half is naked and his ass is dripping in self-lubrication, falling between his thighs like delicious and tempting honey. Lu Han is reaching to touch him when their eyes met. And in a moment of clarity, two things become painfully clear to Lu Han.

  
The first one is that Minseok is his mate.

Undeniably so, and with them wanting it or not. It’s a fact Lu Han was trying to push to the back of his head and ignore it for as long as he could, but this reaction to each other, the attraction, the tension… it’s the pull of a real mate. They are each other mates, Minseok is in heat and somehow, Lu Han still manages to think through it.

And that’s when the second realization comes. Alphas did have clarity when an omega was in heat. But Minseok, he’s completely gone. His eyes are empty. This isn’t the strong-headed omega Lu Han knows. And even if he is a moaning mess, even if his eyes are teary in desperation, he is not giving his consent.

Lu Han retracts his hand and stands up from the bed. Confused, Minseok incorporates himself lifting his upper body with his elbows, his eyebrows are furrowed and his pouty lips are slightly open, pink and so very tempting, just like the rest of his body. Lu Han has to bite his tongue so he doesn’t do something he’ll later regret.

Still, stepping away from your mate in heat is something incredibly difficult and painful for the both of them.

“Wha—”

“I can’t do this. I can’t… I can’t help you.” Lu Han says, raspy voice filled with arousal.

“Alpha…” Minseok moans. “You… you have to.”

“No. You’ll thank me later, but I can’t. Don’t you have something to help yourself? A toy?”

“I do but…” Minseok smiles, and it confuses Lu Han. The omega’s reactions are so out of character, Lu Han feels that just by being in the same room as him, he’s already taking advantage of his state. “You're my mate. Those things won’t help me anymore.”

“Then you’ll have to endure through it.”

“Mate, mate, mate, mate.” Minseok sing-songs, teasing and tempting Lu Han by playing with his entrance, pushing one, two fingers knuckle deep inside himself and sighing in pleasure when he reaches his sweet spot.

Lu Han can feel sweat going down his temple.

He gets to the door but it’s locked. Right. Omega’s automatic doors for when they are in heat.

“Minseok. Where’s the key?!” Lu Han asks not daring to turn around. He can feel Minseok moving around, moaning and touching his hyper sensitive body. When he can’t hold it anymore and he turns around to look, the alpha blames it on the pull.

The omega is on fours now, his head pressed against his mattress. He’s looking back at Lu Han with a teasing glint in his eyes. His hands are opening up his ass, showing Lu Han his most private spot, and he’s fingering himself as he wiggles his lower body like a prize.

“Knot me, alpha.”

Lu Han can feel his autocontrol leaving him slowly. Trying not to focus on Minseok’s clenching and wet hole, in two long steps he makes it back to the bed. He lifts him from his waist and he pushes him against the wall. Minseok giggles through it, until Lu Han shuts him up with an breathtaking kiss. Lu Han kisses him like this would be the last time, because after this it definitely could. He drinks his mouth, sucks his lips and caresses his tongue. Minseok tastes addictive, and they are hugging so tightly, wanting more so badly from each other, Lu Han doesn’t know how does he have the will to pull away.

When he does, though, Minseok and Lu Han’s eyes are locked in each other’s mouths. Minseok’s empty stare is still there, but there’s a shine of his real self under all the lust. He looks totally wrecked, his lips are red and there’s spit around them and he’s still holding Lu Han’s shirt, preventing him from leaving.

“Kim Minseok. Listen to me. You are out of yourself. This isn’t you… please try to think and let me go.”

Minseok raises his wet eyes from Lu Han’s lips, and he stares at him dead in the eye. “You scared him away. The other alpha, the one at the restaurant. He was going to help me through this but when I left the bathroom with your blood on my neck... he could smell it immediately. Obviously. He said I was a slut for offering myself when I was already mated. I tried to tell him he was wrong, that I didn’t have a mate… But he could smell it. You marked me.”

Minseok breaks down suddenly. He starts crying, fat tears falling down his plump cheeks.

“Leave… quickly…” his hands unclench from Lu Han’s shirt, and he goes to open the door for him. In his eyes, Lu Han can see that he doesn’t want him to leave at all, but he uses this opportunity and Minseok’s moment of clarity to run away.

 

***

 

After two days and three nights of crying, whimpering and even yelling for Lu Han to come and help him, Minseok’s heat is finally over.

He wakes up, cold sweat drying on his back, self-lubrication gluing his thighs together, and stiff skin from all the shed tears that wetted his face. He knows he must look and smell disgusting, but he feels worse. Minseok doesn’t even try to talk because he’s sure he doesn’t have a voice and his legs wobble when he stands up to go to the shower.

He has never felt like this after one of his heats. Most of the times he used his toys, a couple of others he had someone to help him and even when he endured through them on his own, the after effects were never this unpleasant.

As he stood under the warm water, scenes from the nights before came back to his mind. He remembers locking himself up, trying to relieve himself to no avail, and then…

Lu Han.

The alpha came, but they didn’t do anything. He closes his eyes. He remembers Lu Han’s mouth on his neck and on his lips. He remembers some fractions of their conversation.

_Mates._

They are mates. Lu Han finally realized. The alpha wasn’t so dumb after all. But he can’t remember or even deduct what happened between Lu Han almost eating him alive to Lu Han leaving.

What does comes to his memory, though, is the scene of him on fours, offering himself to the alpha.

“Oh my god…” Minseok whimpers. He wants the earth to swallow him whole.

 

After eating something and doing some stretches, Minseok turns on his phone. He doesn’t trust himself with technology when he’s in heat, and so he prefers to lock himself out and isolate inside his bedroom completely.

He has several missing calls and texts. The calls are from his mom and pretty much everyone working with him in his campaign. That’s… weird. All of them knew he was going into his heat. He doesn’t bother calling any of them back, yet. Instead he goes to open his texts.

The first one is from his mom.

_How’s my beautiful and smart son? I called but your phone was off. Don’t worry calling me back! You must be really busy, right? I just wanted to know how were you doing. I love you, my baby boy!_

 

The second one is from an unknown number.

 

_Hello. My name is Zitao. I was a student at your university and I heard you are running for president. I wish we could talk? I’m an omega too, and maybe you can make my story public, since I don’t have the means to do it by myself. I’ll leave you my skype username. I hope you can reply to me soon!_

 

Minseok re-reads the message over and over. This is the first time he gets a message like this. He writes the username on a post-it, and he replies right away that he would be more than happy to talk and listen to him.

The next messages are all from his friends. And they are all from just a few hours ago.

 

_Minseok, I know you are… busy, but if you see this, call me._

  
  


_Dude, is it over yet? You need to come here ASAP!!!_

  
  


_Min, you are NOT gonna believe it. Lu Han resigned!!!_

 

  
***

 

It was absolute chaos. Chanyeol and Yifan came running to him first. They tried to knock some sense into his head and to convince him that this was the worst possible decision, but it was done. Lu Han was no longer a candidate and he knew this was the right thing to do. At class, the rest of the alphas asked what happened, demanding answers some more enraged than others. Sehun only stared at him from the distance, and Yixing smiled hesitantly at him from afar.

It was absolute chaos, but there was no chaos bigger than the one happening inside his head.

After Minseok’s heat was done, -and he knew exactly when that happened because he felt when the strong pull of his mate’s heat finally stopped stabbing him in the chest - Lu Han went out of his room after being locked in for days, walked straight to the principal building to cancel his enrolment and after being cornered and interrogated by pretty much everyone, he decided the best thing he could do for now was lock himself in his room once again.

He felt like leaving. Running away from the university, from his responsibilities and especially from Minseok. Just the thought of him made his head hurt, and the fact that they were mates… and the fact that he had been a complete asshole to him since pretty much the moment they met.

Lu Han never wanted a mate. He hated omegas with his soul but now just the thought of having to spend his life knowing who his mate is but not being able to claim him... It’s painful even if he doesn’t hoard any feelings towards Kim Minseok.

And above all, not only his thoughts about mates were destroyed in just a few seconds. Everything he ever believed in, he is questioning it. Everything he was taught since a young age, every action he had done against omegas are coming to his mind and he’s looking at them from a different perspective and it hurts. It hurts looking back and realizing you were acting wrong without realizing. He fired a bunch of omegas just because he disliked their smell… what if they had families? What if they never found another job and ended up on the streets?

Lu Han pulls his hair in frustration.  What is he supposed to do now?

What if his mother’s reasons for leaving him were valid...

“ _Lu Han_.” the alpha hears a muffled voice behind his door. Oh, and he knows this voice very well.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” he opens the door for him, immediately going to his window so he doesn’t have to face the omega. Minseok lets himself in and he closes the door behind him. “Came to mock me? Make fun of the weak ass alpha that can’t keep a promise? Not even… to his closest friends?”

“I came to ask you why. Why did you do it?”

“I thought it was obvious.”

“I refuse to believe you did it for what happened in my room.” Minseok is walking closer and the alpha can feel his smell intensifying. It’s not as strong nor as addictive as before, but it still does things to the alpha that he would rather ignore.

Lu Han finally turns around to face him, and he wants to scream at how beautiful Minseok looks. The real Minseok is back, he can see it in his eyes, looking at him like they can read and see everything Lu Han is, everything he’s trying to hide. It irks the alpha but it also amazes him, how a natural connection can be stronger than what he really feels for Minseok.

Because they don’t really know each other. They actually hate each other, but the stupid bond makes both of them want to forget everything and it’s so _infuriating_.

“We are mates.” Lu Han says after a long silence.

“Took you long enough.” is what Minseok replies.

“So you knew…” the alpha smiles bitterly and shakes his head in disbelief. “Awesome.”

“Yes. And I’m not interested in making this work if you are not willing to change the way you think.”

At this, Lu Han gets visibly angrier. “It’s not something I can change in just a few hours, Kim!! I’m not like you… I was raised like this, I never experienced something like this before!” he makes a gesture pointing at the both of them. “This… _thing_ , happening between us… I always thought it was just a myth, that real mates didn’t exist and that omegas lured alphas into their beds with some kind of spell. But now you come here and you do things to my head!”

Minseok feels the wall hit his back and Lu Han’s warmth radiating in front of him. Why does this always happen? Everytime they are together somehow one of them will end up pinned to a wall.

“And do you think this is, oh so easy for me? Do you think I’m totally immune to you? You have been messing with my head since before you knew I existed. I thought you were so cool, so handsome… but once I got to know you I felt so disappointed. I thought life was playing a trick on me... how could it be so cruel? After all I went through, mother fucking nature mates me with the most despicable creature out there.”

Lu Han can’t resist it anymore, and so he smashes his mouth against Minseok’s, urgently pushing his tongue inside of his mouth. The omega willingly kisses him back, fisting Lu Han’s cotton shirt between his petite hands. The alpha’s arms go around his waist and they find Minseok’s perky ass on instinct, pushing him up and making the omega wrap his legs around Lu Han’s hips.

They kiss, never breaking apart from each other, not even when Lu Han drops Minseok on his bed.

They tug at each other clothes’ with fervor. Lu Han’s shirt goes first, then Minseok’s dress shirt is ripped by the alpha and buttons fly everywhere across the room.

“Hey!” Minseok tries to protest, but it’s muffled between kisses. Lu Han growls, the possessiveness only a real mate can bring out clouds his mind. He goes down, kissing Minseok’s neck and his collarbones, sucking marks on his skin and he’s terribly tempted to bite him and claim him as his own.

Minseok rolls them over smoothly, sitting comfortably on Lu Han’s lap. “Don’t even think about it, alpha.”

His sneaky hands open Lu Han’s jeans in a swift movement, taking out his already hard length and stroking it a couple of times, trying out its thickness and weight. They lock eyes, and there’s a teasing glint on Minseok’s eyes as he continues with his ministrations, biting his tongue in concentration.

Lu Han is moaning, but that doesn’t stop him from opening Minseok’s jeans too, pushing them down desperately. It takes them a while, Minseok has to lay against Lu Han’s chest and stretch his legs so the alpha can help him get rid of his annoying pants and underwear, but they manage. The alpha doesn’t waste any time as he pushes two fingers inside Minseok’s mouth. He does a marvelous job at wetting them, sucking and licking, never breaking eye contact. He lets them out with a pop, and he lifts himself on his knees for Lu Han to find his way into his hole.

Minseok moans out loud when the alpha pushes both fingers inside at once, looking for his most sensitive spot, scissoring him open and licking and biting his nipples at the same time. It’s such a foreign feeling for Minseok, the way his body reacts at the alpha’s ministrations. The way his touch has turned so tender instead of rough, and the way his mouth praises his skin instead of biting it brutally. It makes Minseok want to touch him tenderly too. It makes him want to call him his, and run his fingers through his hair, and wake up safely in his warm hold every morning.

He shakes the thought away. That will never happen, at least not anytime soon. He opens his eyes when he feels Lu Han pulling his fingers out. The alpha is looking up at him expectantly, and in a way, Minseok can see the same thoughts going inside his head. Suddenly, they find themselves sweaty and pressed against each other, Lu Han’s erection against Minseok’s asscrack, wild hickeys shining on their necks and a unanswered question in their eyes.

“Lube.” Minseok whispers, erasing every doubt in the alpha’s mind.

“Nightstand.”

Minseok reaches to it and the movement makes Lu Han moan. “Hurry.”

The omega moves stuff around, but he freezes when he finds something familiar. “What’s this?”

Lu Han looks up and he finds Minseok with the bottle of lube in one hand and a crumpled pamphlet of himself in the other. Lu Han can feel his face turn red as a tomato, if it wasn’t already flushed to his ears.

“Oh, that… Yixing dropped it and I… well, I mean… I forgot I had it, it’s nothing.”

Minseok gives him a shit-eating grin and Lu Han wants to slap it away from his face… or maybe kiss it. But he doesn’t have time to do either because Minseok drops the pamphlet in favor of opening the bottle and spreading a generous amount on Lu Han’s cock. The omega goes down to kiss the alpha, as he lines up the length with his entrance.

“You like me.” he whispers against Lu Han’s lips, and the alpha can’t even deny it when he feels Minseok sinking down on his erection in one swift movement, delicious warmth and heat surrounding Lu Han and leaving him with no words.

“Oh fuck, oh… my god… fuck, _yes_.”

Minseok swallows his comments about how huge the alpha feels inside him, how full and perfect he fits, because the last thing he wants to do right now is fuel the alpha’s ego even more. Instead, he begins riding him slowly, his hands pressed flat against Lu Han’s chest, and his ass making obscene sounds everytime it slaps against Lu Han’s thighs, harder and faster everytime.

It feels like everything is right for the both of them. The pull that almost kills them when Minseok was in heat is finally being satisfied, and even if their future is unsure, at least in that exact moment, they feel in bliss.

“Fuck me… fuck me harder…” Minseok whines when his legs grow tired. Lu Han’s cock makes an obscene sound when it falls against his belly, as Minseok gets on four. The alpha doesn’t waste anytime on changing his position. He gets on his knees, sinking slightly on the bed. He holds on Minseok’s hips for support, but he can’t help himself on peaking at the omega’s red hole before slamming himself back in. It looks just as delicious as the last time he saw it, but now it’s swollen and stretched.

His thrusts are slow at first, taking his length out almost completely, leaving the head inside only to thrust back in. He’s not sure if he should go faster because suddenly he feels the urge to make this good to the omega, too. Actually, he wants to make this especially good for Minseok. It’s confusing.

“Like this?” he asks. Minseok wines in protest. He moves his ass faster than Lu Han, fucking himself against the hard and leaking cock.  

“Fucking hell… fuck me properly! Are you a virgin or what?”

Lu Han freezes. “Wh-what? N-no! Of course not!”

Minseok turns around, mouth open and eyes wide as two fried eggs. “Oh my _god_!”

“Shut it, omega.” Lu Han growls. Minseok giggles as Lu Han manhandles him onto his back, pushing his legs up until his knees are almost at his ears. “Virgin or not I’m still on top of you.”

“Do it right, then.” Minseok challenges him. “Make me scream in pleasure, make me cry in ecstasy… as if this is our first and last time.”

They stare at each other in silence after Minseok says this. They both know this could very well be their first and last. Their minds are sure about this… but Lu Han feels a hole in his chest at the prospect. Minseok’s teasing smile is gone. His mouth slowly curves down cutely, a serious and almost sad expression making it up to his eyes. Carefully, the omega moves his hands up until they rest at the alpha’s neck, tugging him down and pressing their lips together. Lu Han wastes no time in pushing his tongue in. Minseok’s tongue is softer, smaller and it dances so deliciously against his. When they break apart, a thousand words remain unsaid.

“Go on.” Minseok whispers.

It becomes different after that. The snarky replies are gone, replaced by moans and heavy breathing. Minseok guides Lu Han, telling him where to touch, where to kiss, what feels good and what not. And if Lu Han is known for something in this university, is for being a quick learner. Soon, the omega is fisting the sheets, very close to release, tears threatening to fall from the corner of his eyes and he’s begging the alpha to touch him. But Lu Han’s hands are occupied caressing his face and his soft hair, making their way to Minseok’s slim shoulders, keeping him in place so the omega can do nothing else but to take his cock.

They come together, something incredibly difficult to do for anyone but not for mates. Lu Han’s hand goes instinctively to Minseok’s stomach and he bites his own lip until it bleeds because the pull and the urge to claim the omega is way too much.  

Lu Han’s hips keep moving in their own accord as he rides his orgasm. It feels good only for a while, and soon it becomes too much for the omega.

“Sorry… fuck, I can’t stop it.” Lu Han says against Minseok’s neck as he feels his knot forming. The omega squirms in pain but he keeps his comments to himself, only letting out soft whimpers from time to time. The alpha rolls them over so Minseok lays on top of him.

The knot is so big, it presses firmly against Minseok’s prostate and the omega comes twice before it’s finally over. Lu Han holds him by the waist, hugging him securely between his arms and kissing his tears away. By the time the alpha pulls out, Minseok’s a smooshy pile and sweaty skin and bones. His legs don’t respond and his eyes are closing on their own.

His body feels too good for his mind to step in, and he knows he’s gonna have a lot of thinking to do when he wakes up. But for now, he doesn’t have time for any of that when he feels a kiss on his forehead and the kind hands of the alpha cleaning him up with a wet and warm towel. He moans when it goes between his legs, cleaning the cum that’s leaking out. He hears Lu Han mumbling something he only kind of understands.

“I‘m on birth control.” he mumbles back.

When the alpha makes his way back into the bed, an arm possessively around Minseok and pressing him against his chest, he hears him clearly.

“I want to make things right this time. I want… I want you to give me a chance.”

Minseok smiles to himself.

“We’ll see, alpha boy.”

 

* * *

 


	4. Counterarguments

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER: 
> 
> attempted rape

* * *

 

Lu Han wakes up alone on his bed. He is very naked, sprawled on his back, open legs and package right there for anyone to see. There’s an annoying ray of sunlight hitting him directly on the face and his shower is running.

His shower is running.

He wakes up then, the sleeping fog leaving him immediately and every scene from last night comes crashing back into his memory. He slept with Kim Minseok, his mate, his archenemy and his rival for the presidency. Well, now that he resigned at least he can cross that one out of the list.

He remembers how amazing and complete he felt, having Minseok moaning under him, kissing him, _being inside of him_ … but above all, he remembers asking him for a chance. His stomach twists. He really wants to make things right. There’s a reason why Kim Minseok is his mate. Maybe the universe is trying to teach him something and besides, he doesn’t want the omega to sleep with or even get remotely close to another alpha ever again.

Minseok is _his_ , even if he has to win him over.

Lu Han hears the shower stopping and then the door opens wide. Minseok walks through the cloud of steam, water droplets falling smoothly down his lean torso and his wet dark hair sticking to his neck and forehead. He looks stunning.

“Oh, you are awake.” he says, picking up his clothes from the floor. He doesn’t look very relaxed. In fact, he looks on the verge of collapsing.

“How are you?” Lu Han asks.

“I stink,” he replies, letting the towel fall to put on his underwear and Lu Han’s throat closes at the view of his perfectly round ass. “What was I thinking? Now that we slept together the entire campus will know it. I stink of alpha, I stink of you. Why did you have to knot me?!”

“Well, if I remember correctly you weren’t complaining.” Han lays back on his bed, a cocky smile on his face. “Besides, you love my smell. Are you mad because you’ll walk around with a hard-on all day?”

“Glad to know you are still the same asshole as always.” Minseok smiles ironically. “I thought you wanted another chance.” he mocks him.

Han’s smile goes from cocky to apologetic. “Okay, okay… I’m sorry. It’s just that teasing you is so irresistible. Just like your tight a—”

“Shut up!”

Han laughs out loud. “See? So cute…”

“Do you have any perfume that you don’t regularly use? Seriously, I can’t go out smelling like this… My campaign will be ruined.” He tries to button up his shirt, only to realize all the buttons flew all over the room last night. “And my shirt is ruined… _great_.”

“Why is smelling like me so terrible?” Han asks getting up from the bed and going to his closet, handing Minseok an almost full bottle of perfume. “We are mates, after all. People will figure it out sooner or later.”

“Well, you resigned yesterday. Now imagine this headline: ‘ _Omega candidate sleeps with his rival to win presidency_ ’.”

“No one’s gonna believe—”

“And then, something worse: ‘ _Is Jaejoong his next victim_?’”

“I won’t let them.” Lu Han says with resolution, the possessiveness inside of him waking up at the mere suggestion that people could assume Minseok was some kind of prostitute who slept around to win votes. “We’ll tell them we are mates… There has to be a way.”

“I’ve been treated like a slut enough times in my life.” he sighs, not listening to Lu Han and sitting on the bed instead. “I can’t believe this is happening… I really want to win this, Lu Han… I’ve worked so hard.”

“I’ll help you, then.” says Han.

“What? How?”

“I still have my own followers. I can convince them into following you. My votes plus yours… Jaejoong won’t stand a chance.”

“And how exactly are you planning to do that? Last time I checked your followers hated me.”

“I’ll find a way, I can—” but a phone ringing interrupted him.

Minseok stood and looked around the room. “That’s mine… where is it?”

Both of them begin searching for the phone, until it’s Han that finds it under the bed.

“Here it is! Zitao… shit, sorry. I didn’t mean to look.”

Minseok stares at him unamused and grabs the phone away, locking himself in the bathroom to get more privacy. “Hello?”

Only when Minseok is away does Lu Han realize that the name on the screen was _Zitao_ , but it couldn’t be Sehun’s Zitao, right? Though that is an uncommon name in this country… No. What are the chances? Either way, he doesn’t lose anything if he asks him once he comes out.

Minseok takes a while and so in the meantime Lu Han cleans his room, opens his windows and makes the bed. His sheets smell so strongly of Minseok that he doesn’t have it in him to wash them, leaving them on instead. And before the omega comes out, he decides it should be polite to put on some clothes on.

“I don’t think the smell is going anywhere soon, so… I should probably leave. It’s inevitable.” Minseok says once he’s out of the bathroom.

At the word leave, Lu Han’s rehearsed questions about Zitao fly out of the window. “Oh… uh… Minseok, about what I said last night…”

“The thing you said about my ass being perfect or the bit when you admitted you liked me?” the omega teases him, smiling smoothly at Han.

“I’m trying to be serious here, thank you very much.” Han replies putting his hands on his waist. Minseok snorts.

“Ohh! You mean when you asked me to give you a chance.” he smiles again, but not as teasingly as before. This smile is sweeter, somehow.

“Y-yes… and I think we both know what I have to do first.” he walks closer, getting into his personal space and staring at him dead in the eye trying to look as sincere as possible. Minseok’s smile fades. “I’m sorry for what I said about your sister that day at the restaurant. It was stupid and I didn’t mean it, I just wanted to hurt you. I’m sorry, Minseok.”

The omega breaks eye contact, staring at Han’s chest instead, but he doesn’t say anything for a while.

“She was the most important person in my life. She still is, Lu Han. I don’t know if you have brothers or sisters but...” he sighs. “What you said really hurt me. Don’t expect me to forgive you so easily, but… I’ll think about it. Give me some time.”

Lu Han smiles to himself, this is progress at least. He caresses Minseok’s plump cheek with the back of his hand.

“Thank you.” he whispers, but when he’s going closer to kiss him on the lips, a petite hand on his chest stops him.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, alpha. I said I needed time.” Minseok pushes him away and goes to the door. “See you soon, flat ass.”

“Hey! My ass is not—!”

Minseok turns around and lifts his eyebrows at the alpha.

“Well, you don’t have to be so cruel about it…”

  
  


***

 

Lu Han runs into Chanyeol later that day. During the day he realized all the fuss about him leaving the campaign is slowly dying down.

“You look… weird.” is the first thing Chanyeol tells him. “Like… glowing.”

“Do I?” Han smiles awkwardly. “Campaign was really stressing me out, then.”

“Nah, it’s not that. You’ve always had this… aura around you that made you so bitter and angry but now it’s gone. Or at least it faded.”

“Thank you for your honesty, man.” Han says with a plain face.

Chanyeol laughs. “Sorry, sorry. You look good, though! And you smell different… sweeter, kind of.”

“Are you in love with me or what?!” Han replies harsher than he pretended, trying for Chanyeol to drop the topic. “Have you seen Sehun?”

He succeeds, the tall alpha immediately forgetting about Han’s new appearance. “I did, yes. He’s very sad, Han… you need to talk to him.”

“I know…” he whispers.

“He sees you as an older brother, man… He was devastated when you told him to step back and then you just quit, how do you think that made him feel?”

“I’ll talk to him today. I promise. How are the rest of the boys?”

Chanyeol shrugs. “Some more disappointed than others, but finals are coming so they don’t really have time to think about that.”

“Right. Of course.”

“But what happened, man? We were doing so good! I was composing a song and everything!”

Han sighs. “I just… I don’t know. Maybe I realized I’m not good enough for this school.”

Chanyeol snorts. “And who is? Kim Minseok?”

Lu Han is taken by surprise, but quickly recovers. “Maybe, yes.”

“Are you serious?” the tall apha asks impressed.

“He just wants equality, man. It’s that simple. And… during the last few days I’ve realized things, you know? I think equality is what this school needs the most.”

Chanyeol stares at him, eyes full of incredulity. “Who are you?”

Lu Han laughs. “I’m the same, but wiser.”

“Oh, stop the bullshit.” they laugh together, until Chanyeol spots someone behind them. “Yo, speak of the devil…”

Han turns around and a few meters away from them he spots Minseok. He recognizes his heavy backpack hanging from his shoulders and his black hair. He looks uncomfortable, Lu Han can tell even if he can’t see his face from where he’s standing. And who wouldn’t be uncomfortable, when another alpha, —as tallest as Yifan and maybe more—, is leaning only inches away from his face.

Lu Han feels every instinct wake up, every milliliter of blood inside his veins boiling, and his vision becomes a tunnel to where his mate is, not even noticing Chanyeol nasty names towards the omega.

The alpha makes it to the petite omega in two steps, standing between the pair. The way he stands make his shoulders look broader and he looks scary even if he’s several inches shorter than the other alpha. The one from the restaurant, he recognizes him.

“Back off.” he growls.

The alpha is surprised, but he doesn’t flatter. Once he smells Lu Han and recognizes its the same scent coming from Minseok, his expression changes. “Oh, isn’t this lovely.” he smiles ironically.

“Lu Han…” the alpha hears Minseok’s soft voice behind him and his small hand on his shoulder. “Don’t do anything stupid, we were just talking.”

Lu Han ignores him. “I won’t repeat myself, Changmin. Get the fuck away from him or I’ll punch every fucking tooth out of that smile.”

Changmin’s eyes go from Han to Minseok’s scared face hiding behind him. His smile fades to a bitter frown, and before turning around to leave he spits, looking at Minseok:

“Fucking slut.”

At the insult, Han’s rage wins him over and he jumps to attack Changmin with every ounce of strength of his being.

“Lu Han, no!” Minseok yells, grabbing his arms and preventing him from hitting him. “Stop it! It’s not worth it!”

“Yeah, you better run motherfucker!!” Lu Han yells. “And if I see you bothering him again I’ll fucking kill you!!”

Everybody in the hallway is staring at them. Even Chanyeol runs to help Minseok hold Lu Han back.

“Calm down.” Minseok says to him, once their audience starts walking away. “I didn’t need you to come and act like a beast.”

“Are you kidding me?! He was inches away from your face! What the fuck did he want?!” Lu Han asks, still mad about what had happened.

The omega looks just as mad as Lu Han. “Don’t get like this just because we are mates. It doesn’t mean anything… You don’t owe me. I’m not some damsel in distress for you to protect and prove your manliness to everybody.”

“I wasn’t trying to prove anything to anyone! Why are you always so defensive about everything?! I just… felt like I needed to protect you… like an instinct or something. Would you please get off my ass for five seconds?!”

Minseok’s cheeks get redder by the second. “Oh, so you are saying you wanted to protect me because you care about me?”

Lu Han’s face burns, but he says it anyway. “I- I guess… Yes!”

The omega’s frown doesn’t leave his pretty face but he gets so flustered and his face is so red, he just turns around and leaves. Lu Han stays there, his face in the same fashion, burning at his sudden confession and at the same time realization, trying to calm down his beating heart.

“You guys are mates?” he hears Chanyeol asking.

“Fuck off, Yeol.” Han says, turning around and leaving as well.

  
  


***

  
  


Minseok stops outside door 33B. He drinks a huge gulp of water from his bottle and takes a deep breath before going inside, trying his best to look as relaxed and normal as possible.

“Sorry I’m late!” he says rushing inside the meeting room. Three of his best friends are sitting there already, papers and graphics splattered on top of the round table. The omega leaves his backpack on the floor and sits on one of the empty chairs.

“Dude!” Baekhyun, the youngest omega of their group and the loudest one, yells. “What’s that smell?!”

“Min… What happened?!” Kyungsoo, Minseok’s best friend asks concerned.  And Minseok knows he isn’t asking about the fight that just took place, but about his smell. The distinctive scent when an alpha knots you.

“Who was it? Was it… consensual? Seokie, you know you can tell us anything.” Yongsun’s soft voice is filled with worry.

“Yes... it was. My heat was over when it happened and… oh god, this is so embarrassing. Is the smell that obvious?” Minseok covers his face with both hands. There’s no point denying it to his friends.

“I mean, I can smell it and I have a stuffy nose since a week ago.” says Kyungsoo.

“But who was it?!” Baekhyun smiles, always thirsty for gossip. “If it was Changmin I would hate you forever. I have my eyes on that hot piece of ass since decades ago, seriously.”

“That guy's an asshole. I wouldn’t let him close to mine, Baek.” Minseok sighs. “It was Lu Han. We are mates.”

There’s a long silence in which no one dares to say anything.

“You have got to be kidding me.” Yongsun covers her mouth in surprise. “Your mate… is the devil himself.”

“I’m so sorry, Min.” Kyungsoo laments, as if giving him his condolences.

“You deserve so much better, Seokie.” Baek says this time. “That guy is gross. Ew.”

“You know, he’s actually not that bad.” Minseok whispers, not daring to look up at his friends. “He asked me for a chance, he offered to help with my campaign and he… he actually defended me just a few minutes ago when Changmin was stalking me.”

“So he quit his own campaign… for you?” Yongsun asks.

“Changmin did _what_?!” Kyungsoo and Baekhyun ask at the same time.

“He’s very drastic when it comes to decisions.” Minseok shrugs replying to his female friend. “And about Changmin, I don’t want to talk about it. It’s a long story for another time.”

Kyungsoo clears his throat after another awkward silence. “So… you actually like him? Lu Han, I mean.”

Minseok blushes. “Uhm… I guess?”

Baekhyun giggles. “This is the greatest thing ever. It feels like we are on some really shitty soap opera.”

“We want to meet him. I mean, if you are thinking about giving him a chance and everything… he needs to get our approval first, okay?” Kyungsoo says, and Minseok sits straight, saluting like a militar.

“Yes, sir!”

All of them laugh, as they begin discussing the topics for Minseok’s next debate.

 

***

 

Lu Han stays in his room for the rest of the day. He completely forgets about speaking to Sehun or explaining anything of what had happened to any of his friends. He just wants to sleep and forget about Kim Minseok and how overly complicated things had become.

It’s one of Yixing’s texts that makes him finally go out, letting him know the debate already began and that Sehun is there. A perfect opportunity to find him and talk to him.

When the alpha gets there, he finds a large crowd listening to the two candidates on the stage. He tries not to look at Minseok, looking stunning as always, and instead he focuses on finding his friend. After a while, he spots him, sitting alone and away.

“Hey.” Lu Han says sitting next to him.

“Lu Han,” the young alpha replies. He looks hurt and sad, but not angry at all. And Lu Han knows it won’t be hard to make things better with him. Sehun is a sweet kid, and his biggest fear is being on his own and not having anyone to rely on.

“How are you, Sehunnie?”

“Been better.” he smiles.

Lu Han smiles back, but it fades quickly. “I’m sorry, Hunnie. I don’t want us to be like this. I worry about you, you are a little brother to me and it hurt me seeing you so full of hate. I hope you can understand.”

“I do.” Sehun sighs. “You were right. It was unhealthy for me to be… so involved. I’m better now.”

“I’m glad. So, we good?” Lu Han smiles, lifting his fist and offering it to Sehun. The youngest alpha smiles at his friend’s silliness but still bumps it.

“We good.”

They hug briefly and then continue to listen the debate. Minseok looks very sure of what he is saying, and Jaejoong looks more and more nervous as the debate progresses. He’s not very good with words. The omega, on the contrary, is excellent explaining and sharing his ideals. Lu Han thinks Minseok could win easily even without his help.

“What I’m saying is, all this stories you are telling are from the past. Our society has evolved enough and everybody knows this kind of things don’t happen anymore.” Jaejoong says, and a few of his followers clap in agreement.

“Well, Jaejoong. I’m going to tell you a story of a friend of mine that contacted me a few days ago. He was a student from this university, an omega. He was an excellent student, he had a boyfriend whom he loved and a bright future ahead of him, but guess what? And this is not something from another decade, this happened last year. A distant uncle of him got him pregnant. It was non consensual, of course, he was very insistent in letting that clear to me, he said he loved his boyfriend very much even if they weren’t biological mates, but his family forced him to marry his uncle and so, he ended up in China.”

There’s silence in the room once Minseok stops talking. Lu Han gives Sehun a look, and the face of his friend leaves him breathless. Sehun is crying.

“If my friend said any of this outloud, if he seeked for help inside his own circle, his family would disown him and he would end up on the streets. In more radical countries, he could get killed. And that’s why I’m here, to tell his story. He told me to say his name, he told me he was tired of being afraid…”

“Sehun? What’s wrong?” Han asks.

“I’m doing this for Huang Zitao and everybody else that is living awful realities just for being born the way they were born!” Minseok says and the public erupts in applauses.

Lu Han doesn’t have time to do anything except chasing after his friend that at the name of his ex-lover couldn’t hold it anymore and ran away.

“Sehun!” Lu Han yells but the younger is faster and in no time Lu Han loses him between the crowd.

“Lu Han!” the alpha hears behind him. It’s Yixing, and the beta looks concerned and sad. “I’m sorry… I didn’t know Minseok was going to say any of that… none of us knew about that story… If I had known I would have—”

“Xing, stop. It’s not your fault.” Han runs his hand through his own hair. This is getting more and more complicated by the second. “Actually, I should be the one apologizing. About what I said to you when I knew you were helping Minseok.”

“You were angry, I understand.” Yixing replies smiling, shrugging Han’s apology off. Damn, Lu Han thinks, he really is an angel.

“No… I overreacted and I was immature. Actually, now I’m supporting Minseok too.”

Yixing opens his mouth and lifts his eyebrows, impressed. “You what?! I didn’t see this coming at all… for real?!”

“I’ll explain later, it’s a long story. Why don’t you go to Sehun and I’ll ask Minseok more about Zitao? Maybe we can make them talk and fix things… at least so our Sehunnie can get some kind of closure.”

The beta stares at him perplexed. “Who are you?”

“Why does everybody keep asking that?”

“You are… different. Good different.” Yixing smiles, caressing Lu Han’s earlobe, but the apha shrugs him away.

“Don’t do that!” he complains.  

“Sorry.” Yixing laughs. “But promise me you won’t fight with Minseok, please? Just… ask him about Zitao as a civilized person. I don’t want to drag you both to infirmary after you punch each other’s teeth out.”

“Yixing, have a little faith on me, okay? I can totally have a civilized conversation with Kim Minseok and not fuck it up.”

  
  


***

  
  


“Fuck, yes. Touch me there.” Minseok moans. Lu Han has him pressed against the wall as he sucks and licks marks into his neck, running his hands up and down his soft chest, teasing his perky nipples, bulge hardly pressed against Minseok’s ass.

They are both shirtless, Minseok’s belt is undone and he’s bracing himself against the cold surface of the wall trying to muffle his moans at every single one of Han’s ministrations over his boiling body.

They fall to the bed, quickly getting rid of their pants and underwear. Lu Han’s strong body feels delicious on top of him, the perfect heaviness to make Minseok’s mind get lost in pleasure. Han’s getting so much better at his even if this is only their second time, kissing Minseok at every chance he gets, pulling his hair, fingering him open so deliciously slow.

“Stop teasing.” Minseok moans, desperate for him to go faster, to come undone.

“Stop being so bossy.” Han replies with a smile, sweaty hair and eyes filled with lust.

Once Minseok’s ready, Lu Han bends him in half, lifting up his legs so they rest on his shoulders and he enters him. They both moan at the delicious friction, and Han starts rocking his hips slow and smooth.

They ended up doing this not long after Lu Han made his way to Minseok’s room a couple of hours after the debate asking about Zitao, telling Minseok that Sehun was the boyfriend the chinese loved so much and begging him for help so the two lovers could talk. And Minseok had found the action so cute and endearing, of Lu Han caring so much for his younger friend, that he couldn’t help but jump on top of him and kiss him senseless.

“I want to bite you so bad.” Lu Han moans. “I want to mark you and make you mine forever.”

Minseok can feel himself getting even more wet at Han’s words, and even if does like the idea of Han marking him, he knows everything said in the middle of sex doesn’t mean anything.

“I want to make you mine, so all the other alphas know their place.” Lu Han growls, changing their positions. Now it’s Lu Han on his back with Minseok riding him backwards. Like this, the alpha can see his length disappearing inside the omega’s ass and he opens up his cheeks to see his beautiful red and abused rim.

“So possessive.” the petite omega moans as he bounces on Han’s lap, steadying himself on the alpha’s knees.

“You like it.” Lu Han teases.

And fuck, did Minseok like it.

Minseok reaches his high before Lu Han does, the omega’s body tensing at the intense pleasure going through every nerve of his body. He yells as he comes. He was never loud during sex before he met Lu Han, but it’s different when it’s your mate deep inside of you, he just can’t help it.

His orgasm is prolonged by the feeling of Lu Han shooting his load inside, filling him up with warm cum and then the painful but exquisite feeling of his knot forming. Minseok falls on his stomach, their lower bodies joined by Lu Han’s knot that keeps pressing against his prostate.

  
  


After a while, and once they are both seated and cleaned up, Minseok relaxes against Han’s chest enjoying his warmth and alluring smell. He feels calm and satisfied, and he’s sure he could do this everyday. Have sex with Lu Han and then relax against him under the warm covers of his bed, and at such thought, an unsettling feeling makes his stomach twist nervously.

“I’m tired of this…” he murmurs. Lu Han only hums back, asking what he means. “I’m tired of fighting you. It feels much better when we are like this. It’s so… easy.”

“You feel like that because I just gave you an orgasm.” Lu Han replies.

“Maybe.” Minseok closes his eyes, listening to Han’s steady heartbeat. “But I’ve had plenty of orgasms in my lifetime and this is the first time it feels like this.”

“How?” Lu Han asks.

“So... right.”

There’s a long silence, in which Lu Han enjoys the feeling of Minseok’s soft body against his. He caresses his back mindlessly with his right hand, drawing patterns on his skin and smelling his hair. Minseok is right. Lu Han feels complete too, enjoying the silence with Minseok between his arms.

“My mother was an omega.” he says without thinking.

“Oh?” Minseok mumbles half asleep, trying to open his eyes to look at the alpha.

“Mhm.” Han mumbles back. “She abandoned me, though.”

And this seems to wake Minseok up, because suddenly he doesn’t sound sleepy at all. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. It happened when I was twelve. It doesn’t matter now.” Han says. “I looked her up on Facebook once. She married again… looked happy with her new kids.”

Minseok frowns but he doesn’t pry. “Maybe… maybe she had her reasons.”

“I’ve asked myself way too many times what her reasons could’ve been, and I’ve come to the conclusion that she was just selfish. Or she probably hated me.” Han smiles bitterly.

“Don’t say that… maybe she runned away from your father.”

“Minseok, don’t try to defend her. She left her own son behind. If she hated my father why didn’t she take me with her?” Han sits up from the bed, and Minseok’s already missing his heavy arm around his own small frame. “I don’t even know why I brought it up. Cuddle time is over, I guess.”

Lu Han stands up and begins searching for his clothes. Minseok looks at him from the bed.

“What was her name?”

“What does it even matter.” is what Han replies putting on his pants and shirt. The omega observes every movement, and when the alpha is done he turns around. “So… I guess I’ll see you around.”

“Lu Han, wait.” Minseok says standing up from the bed. He’s still naked and Han has to look away from his hickeys and ruffled hair. “I thought about what you asked me and… my answer is yes.”

“Yes?” Han asks confused.

“I will… give you a chance. I want to make this right too and my friends want to meet you. Kyungsoo is scary at first but he’s really nice once you get to—”

His rambling is interrupted by Lu Han’s lips on his own, taking his breath away as their tongues meet in one of the most passionate kisses they’ve shared so far.

“Thank you.” Lu Han whispers. “I won’t disappoint you.”

  
***

 

Only a few days are left for the elections, and Minseok is pleased with how things are going. Lu Han has spoken to his friends and followers, publicly admitting he’s now supporting the omega. He hasn’t done anything grand, but just the fact that he’s trying is enough for him.

“For fuck’s sake Lu Han, I already told you not to kiss me or grab my ass in public, at least not until after the election.” says an exasperated Minseok in a corner of the hallway.

“Aw, don’t be like that. I need to mark my territory.” Han smiles, trying to grab Minseok’s waist.

“Don’t!” the omega hisses, taking a look around in case anyone spotted them yet.

“Everybody here knows we are mates, already.” Han says, but after seeing Minseok’s scary face he adds, “I mean… probably. Not everybody.”

“Whatever.” Minseok sighs. “Did Sehun speak to Zitao yet?”

“Not yet. He stares at the number like a lost puppy… but I’m sure he will. He needs some time first.”

“I hope they can make things right. And maybe, in the future, we can help Zitao escape.” Minseok smiles sweetly, and Lu Han really wants to kiss him right now.

“You are cute.” he smiles, touching gently his face and neck. “Makes me wanna devour you.”

“So charming.” but then he looks around one more time and after checking no one’s around, he smiles teasingly and lifts his eyebrows suggestively. “Later tonight, you can devour anything you want.”

“Kim Minseok!” Lu Han fakes a surprised expression, his hands finally settling on the omega’s thin waist. “Who would’ve thought.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Minseok slaps his hands away, again. “I need to go. See you later.”

“A goodbye kiss?” Han smiles getting closer his face, but the petite omega is not amused.

“Fuck off, Han.” he says with a poker face, turning around to leave.

“Call me!” Han yells behind him, taking a moment to appreciate Minseok’s cute little ass walking away.

  
  
  
Minseok needs to meet with his friends one last time. They need to take down all propaganda before the elections begin and they need to review Minseok’s winning and losing speech. He’s confident, though, and he’s ready to begin working to make this university a better place for all.

He feels a giddy feeling inside after being so close to Han, and he wishes he could just give up to the alpha’s wandering hands and excessive PDA, but his instincts and the way he was raised fight the other way. He wants to look strong and independent in front of everybody and he doesn’t want anyone to assume he is some kind of possession, a person born to be claimed.

His train of thought is cut by someone grabbing his arm and pushing him inside a dark room. He struggles, but the person is pushing a piece of fabric inside his mouth so he doesn’t scream and he’s being pushed to the floor on his stomach. Minseok’s scared, _terrified_ and confused. He feels a rope tying his hands together and another one around his face so he doesn’t spit the fabric away.

The person fists his hair and pulls his head up and Minseok screams from the pain, hot tears making it out of his eyes.

He’s maneuvered to sit against the wall and through his teary eyes he can see Changmin undoing his pants and yanking them down, underwear included. Minseok screams and cries more, kicking his legs, trying to hit the alpha, begging for someone to come.

“Stop moving!” Changmin hisses, punching the omega square on the jaw. Minseok feels the distinctive taste of blood on his mouth. He feels so small, so helpless, so humiliated. “Maybe I should fuck your mouth first, would you like that? A knot in your mouth so you stop screaming like a bitch?!”

Changmin takes his phone out of his pocket and points the camera at Minseok’s face.

“I just need you to smile and look pretty, ok? No one’s gonna want a slut as president, right?” he smiles ironically, opening his own jeans with his free hand and taking out his hard member. “Oh, the face Lu Han will make when he smells my scent in you. He’ll fucking gag at it!”

Minseok closes his eyes, trying to think clear. Changmin is going to take the rope and fabric out of his mouth and he takes a deep breath, preparing himself to yell at the top of his lungs when that happens. Even if the alpha keeps hitting him, he will keep screaming. In the meantime, he tries to send telepathic messages to his mate. He knows this closet is close to his locker, and maybe… if the gods play on his favour, Lu Han will be able to hear him. He read somewhere once that real mates can feel each other when one of them is in danger, and even if science denies it, faith is the only thing he has right now.

“Open up.” Changmin says, grabbing Minseok’s head with the strength only an alpha could have. But he doesn’t get to take the rope off when the unexpected happens.

Someone is kicking the door from the outside, trying to kick it down.

“Minseok!!!”

It’s Lu Han. Minseok screams at the top of his lungs and when his mate finally breaks inside, he jumps like a wild animal on top of Changmin.

Everything happens so fast. Minseok cries as he watches, unable to do anything, the way Lu Han punches Changmin over and over until his face is an unrecognizable red patch of blood and raw meat. He’s already unconscious but Lu Han’s doesn’t stop, and it’s Minseok the one that has to kneel and get close, hands and mouth tied, so the alpha stops.

Lu Han’s fingers are probably broken but he doesn’t even wince when he undoes Minseok’s bindings.

“Are you okay?” he asks once Minseok is free. He touches his bruised cheek with so much care.

“Han…” Minseok cries inconsolably. “What did you do?”

The couple turn their heads to look at the immobile figure of Changmin on the floor.

“Is he… is he dead?” Minseok whispers while sobbing.

“ _Shit_.” Lu Han replies.

 

* * *

 

 


	5. Refutation

* * *

 

 

Before checking on Changmin, Lu Han helps Minseok pull up his pants and get rid of the bindings that tie his hands together, kissing softly the marks on his wrists and caressing the ugly bruises that defile his fair and pure white skin.

“I’m fine.” Minseok says, still crying. “Is he still breathing?”

Lu Han crawls closer to where Changmin is lying. He tries not to look at his disfigured face and instead he presses his ear against his chest.

“He’s alive.” Han says when he hears his faint beating heart. “Thought I don’t know for how much longer.”

“Fuck… this is such a mess.” Minseok whimpers, covering his face and bending his legs against his chest. “What do we do now?”

Minseok feels Lu Han getting closer to him. His scent is somehow relieving. He saved him from something horrible and at least they are together in this. Han moves Minseok’s hands away from his face and finds his lost and red eyes that seem like they will never stop letting tears fall.

“Minseok, listen to me. Go to the infirmary, tell them what happened. Show them your marks, tell them to take pictures.” he instructs, and Minseok makes a huge effort to listen to everything the alpha is saying. “You are the _only_ victim here, you understand?”

He stands up and helps Minseok to do so. The omega’s legs feel like jelly and he struggles to keep balanced.

“We need to make sure this motherfucker doesn’t die, so tell them to come.” Lu Han takes his phone out and presses it against his ear. “Meanwhile, I will call my lawyer.”

Minseok nods, takes a final look at Changmin’s bleeding face and leaves without saying another word.

_“Hello? Lu Han?”_

“Dad... something happened.”

 

***

  
  


The rumor doesn’t take long in spreading all over campus. Pictures of Lu Han with bruised and blood-covered hands are already up on every social media known to mankind. After the ambulance takes Changmin to the hospital and Lu Han’s hands are taken care of, and before Lu Han has the chance to go see Minseok, the chancellor of the university calls him into his office.

Lu Han sits there, not meeting his eyes, as the man in front of him stares at the young alpha with an unsettling smile on his face.

“I don’t think we are going to make much progress until Changmin is good to talk.” he says. Han lifts his eyes.

“There’s nothing to talk. He tried to rape Minseok and he would’ve succeed if I hadn’t got there in time.”

“Now, now, let’s not get emotional about this. I’m sure neither of us want any gossip with the police involved, right? I mean, it wouldn’t look good for your career or the university. After all, you disfigured that kid’s face.”

“So Minseok should stay with his arms crossed? He’s in danger! I don’t think you understand the weight of the situation.”

“And I don’t think you understand what could happen to your omega boyfriend if he doesn’t take his nose out of the grown up’s business.” the chancellor raises his voice. “An omega president… what a joke. I just brought you here to warn you that you should stay away from trouble until Changmin comes back, and you’ll deal with the consequences then.”

Lu Han stands up, and leans on the chancellor’s desk, a menacing tone on his voice. “If you dare to put a filthy finger on Minseok, I will take you and this entire university down. I think you are forgetting who you are talking to. I’m a Lu, and with a snap of my fingers I could buy that chair you are sitting on, mr Lee.”  

The chancellor looks outraged. “How dare you speak to me like that.”

“Oh, I’m not saying anything that isn’t the truth. Minseok is under my wing, he is _my_ mate and he is the only victim in this situation. I expect to have your full support once Changmin comes back, or you _will_ be dealing with my lawyers.”

  
  


***

  
  


After leaving the office, Lu Han goes directly to the infirmary. From a distance, he can see Minseok talking to the police, and he hides behind the corner and tries to listen to what they are saying.

“And then what happened?” the cop with the clipping board on his hands asks. He’s writing everything Minseok says.

“I don’t remember much, to be honest. I remember someone taking Changmin off me and then everything was a blur.” Minseok says, so softly Lu Han has a hard time understanding his reply.

“Does Lu Han have a history of being a violent man?” the second cop asks.

“N-no… I think he miscalculated his strength. We are mates and I’m sure you understand alpha’s nature when it comes to mates,” Minseok explains. “He was trying to protect me. And he succeeded.”

“Mr. Kim, what’s your relationship with Changmin?”

“We are classmates, I met him last year. We worked together for a project.”

“And that’s it?”

“Yes.” Minseok says with resolution.

The second cops looks unconvinced. “In cases like this, the attacker often had motives that made him do such an act. This looks to me like a clear jealousy issue.”

The omega frowns. “I don’t know what was going on inside Changmin’s head or his motives to attack me. I only know he tried to rape me and it was a miracle that Lu Han found me on time.”

The first officer writes down a few things, and then asks again. “What you are wearing right now is what you were wearing at the time of the attack? Don’t you think those pants are a little tight for someone of your kind?”

“Excuse me?” Even from a distance Lu Han can recognize rage on his mate’s eyes. When it was directed at him he found it mainly amusing, but now that he’s seeing it from outside, the omega can look quite scary if he wants to.

“You said it yourself. Alpha’s nature… it’s hard to resist a cute omega walking around wearing provocative clothes, or are you just using that line to protect your boyfriend?”

Minseok can’t believe what he’s hearing. “Those are completely different things! And even if I was walking around naked, he didn’t have the right to-”

“Okay, mr Kim. Please.” The cop shrugs it off, ignoring the omega and after writing a couple of lines, he leaves.

The nurse offers Minseok to stay the night, but the omega mumbles a thank you and denies the offer. Lu Han is waiting for him around the corner, and Minseok jumps in surprise when he sees him, but he recovers quickly and falls into his arms easily, thankful that the alpha is there for him in a time like this.

Lu Han’s arms go around Minseok petite form, and he kisses the top of his head as he asks;

“Are you okay?”

“I don’t know.” his words are mumbled by Han’s shirt. The alpha caresses his back softly.

“Let’s go, I’ll walk you to your room.” he says, but Minseok hugs him tighter, stopping him from moving.

“Let’s go to yours.”

  
  


Lu Han’s smell relaxes Minseok, and so his room is like a delicious spa to the omega. Once showered and dressed in a big and loose t-shirt (Lu Han’s), he’s tucked under the covers of his mate’s soft bed, Lu Han’s warmness next to him.

“Can you believe the nerve of that guy? He asked me what I was wearing.” Minseok fumes.

“I know, I heard.” Lu Han says, placing a hand on Minseok’s cheek. “But you need to rest now. It’s been a long day.”

Minseok touches Han’s hand softly and brings it closer to his face to inspect his bandages. “How are your hands? Do they hurt a lot?”

“I’ll survive.” Lu Han smiles, going closer to steal a kiss from Minseok’s lips. “Don’t worry about me.”

Minseok sighs. “What will happen now? What did the chancellor tell you?”

“He basically threatened me…” Lu Han shifts, getting even closer to Minseok and choosing not to tell him what the chancellor said about an omega becoming president . “But I threatened him back.”

“You did? How?” the omega looks impressed.

“Oh, you know… my family, my money, blah blah blah...” he smiles. “Very bold considering what had happened right before with my dad.”

Minseok’s eyes widen a fraction. “What happened?”

Lu Han stays silent for a few seconds, thinking about what he is about to say, about his conversation with his father. “He said a lot of things. He always does… but this time, it made me realize what an asshole he really is.”

Minseok doesn’t reply, waiting for the alpha to continue.

“He said I was an embarrassment and that I basically destroyed my career by protecting an omega that way. I told him you were my mate and… he said mates were a myth. You know the speech.”

The omega smiles faintly. “I’m sorry you had to grow up with him.”

Lu Han smiles back, but it disappears quickly. “He said he couldn’t help the both of us. He couldn’t kick Changmin out of the school and at the same time make me stay… he basically made me choose between you and me.”

“Lu Han… I don’t want his help. I can manage on my own.”

The alpha frowns. “No, you can’t. The police won’t do anything against him unless you have someone influential like my dad, on your side. Changmin’s family is rich and important.”

“So I have to accept help from someone that hates me and my kind? Someone that probably believes I asked for it?”

“I just…” Lu Han sighs, a blush creeping up from his neck to his cheek and ears. “I want you to be safe.”

Minseok’s cheeks get red, in the same fashion as Han’s. Neither of them are meeting each other’s eyes. “So, what is going to happen?”

“Well, I already told my dad to fuck off.”

“What?!”

Lu Han’s laugh begins to form in the bottom of his stomach. “I um, I kinda rebelled against him? Told him if he didn’t help you I wouldn’t take the firm, so… I was hoping you would want his help, but that backfired too.”

“But… but what about the chancellor? The threats…?”

Lu Han shrugs. “I was basically bluffing.”  

Minseok stares at the alpha, speechless for a while, and then he bursts out laughing. Lu Han laughs too, so loud and for so long that his stomach hurts and his eyes get teary. Minseok is red in the face, and he hits Lu Han’s shoulder when he can’t even make a sound.

“Why are you so…” Minseok struggles to talk and breath at the same time. “Dramatic! Everything you do… you just...”

Lu Han covers his face with both hands. “I don’t know! I can’t help it!”

Their laughter slowly dies down. The alpha is on his back, staring at the white ceiling, trying to calm his breath in the aftermath of their burst, when the gorgeous face of his mate enters his line of vision. He’s smiling, cheeks flushed and messy hair, and his eyes shine as they wrinkle at the corners. Lu Han suddenly feels breathless for a completely different reason than laughter. He knows he can’t yet call love the feeling he gets when he looks at his mate, that weird feeling of inability, of calm and storm.

“You look really ugly when you laugh.” Minseok says with the sweetest smile he can muster, breaking the spell with a simple sentence.

Lu Han pushes him down by the neck and kisses his teasing smile away.

 

***

 

The next few days are a blur for Minseok. He knows he needs to use what happened to his advantage, and he does. The school is shaken by the facts, and even if some people don’t believe him, Lu Han is right there next to him as a witness to convince them otherwise.

On the day of the elections, he waits with his entire team and Lu Han inside their main meeting room, and at five o’clock on the dot, it is announced that he won.

65% of the votes were for him, against a weak 34% for Jaejoong.

“Thank you, thank you!” Minseok says, walking up the stage and standing in front of the microphone. There’s a small crowd in the patio of their campus looking at him. “First, I want to thank every single one of you that trusted me and gave me your vote. I feel truly honored to be representing all of you here, today. I won’t promise you I will make a change, we will make a change together!”

People clap and whistle in approval.

“We will make a change for the better and this is our first step! My purpose is equality and peace and I want to take this university towards that path. In a month, I will take the charge and I feel truly prepared for what the future holds for me. It won’t be easy, but I have you to walk with me.”

People clap again.

“Also, I want to thank my team. Without them, this wouldn’t be possible and this victory is to them, too. I want to thank Kyungsoo, my best friend and my right hand. Baekhyun, my left hand and my support. Yongsun, my beautiful comrade in the good and bad times. Jongdae, one of the brains of my campaign and Yixing and Jongin, both from the beta community that were the first ones supporting me.”

Minseok looks over to where his crew is standing, they are all smiling at him, and he’s sure Baekhyun has tears in his eyes. He is so going to get teased about it later, no doubt. But next to them, he spots Lu Han. They lock eyes and smile at each other.

“And last but not least, Lu Han.” all his friends exclaim teasing sounds at the couple, and the alpha blushes. _Get married!_ Jongdae says with his annoying little voice. “Who gave me hope about my message, about what I was doing had a real meaning. That people can change for the better and that my views are important. Thank you. I’m glad we could overcome our differences and get to know each other better.”

The alpha’s heart flutter at Minseok’s words and the sweet smile he’s sending to him. He can’t wait to get the omega all for himself.

 

***

 

They go to a bar that same night to celebrate. Some of Lu Han’s friends are invited, as well as Jongin’s friends and of course, Minseok’s. The alpha doesn’t see his mate for most of the night, so he decides to stay with his friends and share a drink while having a pleasant conversation. He sits on a table with Sehun, Chanyeol and Yifan, laughing and joking about Lu Han and his current situation, asking him about Changmin and the chancellor, and Lu Han replying to every question without inhibitions.

Chanyeol teases him about how he looks head over the heels for Minseok, but the alpha punches him in the shoulder. ‘As if!’ he says, but deep down he knows ever since he mated with Minseok for the first time, there was no going back.

“Dude!” Lu Han yells, almost dropping his drink. “I totally forgot to ask you about Zitao!”

There’s no delicacy about any topic at this moment, with all the alcohol going thru their veins and head.

“And I totally forgot to tell you!” Sehun replies. All eyes are on him now. “I still love him, I love him! And he didn’t cheat on me, it was his family that made him marry that fucking bastard after he got pregnant. But I have everything arranged! I will help him escape, we just need to figure out the visa for the kid but… I’ll manage.”

“Wow man, that’s amazing!” Yifan says with his eyes wide open. “You guys were perfect for each other, I’m sure you will make it.”

“Yeah, I liked Zitao, he was really chill.” Chanyeol adds. “Hey man, I have a cousin that works in immigration, maybe he could help with the visa!”

Sehun almost spits out his drink. “Are you serious?!” Chanyeol nods and the pair hug each other in a tight embrace.

“Cheers for that!” Yifan yells, downing another shot in one go. Lu Han copies him, laughing at how natural and normal this feels. Like old times. He liked Zitao too, he was cute and gentle with Sehun, even if back then he despised omegas in general. Oh, how the tables have turned.

“Um, excuse me gentlemen.” says a soft voice behind them. “May I have this dance with the pretty boy?”

Minseok is looking down at Lu Han with a sultry and inebriated look on his eyes, offering his hand for the alpha to take.

“Who are you calling pretty?” Lu Han stands up, taking the hand anyways and leading Minseok to where the rest of the group is dancing. He can hear his friends giggling in the background.

“What? I think you are pretty. My pretty mate.” Minseok hugs Lu Han’s neck, getting dangerously close and pressing his body against the alpha’s lean and toned chest.

“ _You_ are pretty. I’m handsome, manly.” Lu Han’s hands travel from Minseok’s waist to his ass, and he tries to catch his mouth with his, eager to get a taste of the tempting little mouth smiling at him.

“Whatever you say, alpha boy.” the omega avoids Han’s mouth, opting to place a wet kiss on his long neck. They move their bodies to the rhythm of the music, both of them feeling more and more bothered by the second. The smell of alcohol and smoke can’t mask the alluring smell of each other.

“I want to eat you.” Lu Han growls in his ear. “Right here, in front of everyone.”

Minseok moans. “Let’s go… let’s go to your place. Or mine… whatever. Just… let’s go.”

“No time.” the alpha says, hugging Minseok around the waist and lifting him up the floor. Minseok hugs Lu Han tighter around his neck and squeals at the action.

They end up inside a dirty bathroom stall, furiously making out, teeth clashing and tongues dancing together, like they can’t get enough of each other. Minseok hastily pulls down both his and Han’s pants, their erections jumping free, and it’s Lu Han the one that wraps a hand around them, rubbing their members together.

Minseok moans into his mate’s mouth, holding himself up from his shoulders. He can feel himself getting wet, and he knows this won’t be enough to satisfy either of them, but at least for now, it’s something.

“‘m close.” the omega moans, on the verge of coming undone.

“Already?” Han replies smiling, but he sounds just as breathless and debauched. “Should I go slower?”

Minseok bites the conjecture of Han’s shoulder and neck. “Don’t tease…”   

Lu Han doesn’t, because he isn’t even sure if he can actually go slower at this point. With a couple of flicks of his wrist, he makes himself and Minseok come undone together. Minseok bites him harder, almost breaking the skin, and it makes Lu Han want to bite him back and mark him forever. The word love on the tip of his tongue.

  
  
  


***

  
  


But the joy doesn’t last very long.

Only two weeks after Minseok wins and before his victory is officialized, Changmin comes back.

He has a dark and ugly looking purple eye, bandages all over his face and an ugly cut that goes from his lip to his chin. It’s clear that his nose was broken but it got fixed, the black bruise that goes under his eyes and over the bridge of his nose is evidence enough.

Minseok sees him first. His heart stops, fear freezing his limbs for a few seconds, but he thinks fast and before the alpha can see him, he hides. The alpha is surrounded by his friends and he’s bragging about _kicking the little whore out of his school_. But even if he’s scared, Minseok has to hold his laugh when he sees Changmin’s face after hearing who won the elections.

The omega knows he has it hard. He knows he’s almost fighting a losing battle when it comes to kicking Changmin out of the school. Both him and Lu Han are powerful people and the chances of any of them getting kicked out is almost null. But he also knows that now that he was elected, he also has some kind of power. He’s not just any omega that can be silenced easily. He has fought hard to get here, to win, to be someone even in this small community. And if he has to yell, if he has to scream to the media or the police, even if he’ll be ignored, he _won’t_ stop.

  
  


Lu Han doesn’t know Changmin is back until he’s called into the chancellor’s office once again.

He somehow expects the other alpha to be there, sitting across the chancellor but what he doesn’t expect is his dad to be there too, and another man that looks painfully like an older version of Changmin. The chancellor welcomes Lu Han with a gross smile on his face, like he’s oh so happy to see him after what happened in their last meeting.

“Mr. Lu, please sit down.”

“Dad? What are you doing here?” Lu Han asks perplexed.

“Sit and listen.” his dad replies.

Mr. Lee begins to talk. “I had a lovely chat with your father. He’s such a smart and educated man. Just like you, Lu Han. And we think alike in so many topics.”

The alpha choses to stay silent, sending daggers with his eyes towards the man in front of him and his father in the process. He doesn’t even look at Changmin or the other man.

“He told me your relationship with Kim Minseok has you very emotional and irrational. I understood why you acted that way with me back then, and I forgive you, Lu Han. That little omega has had such a bad impact in you, your grades and this school in general. Don’t you think so too, Changmin?”

“Yes, sir. He’s a virus.”

Lu Han clenches his fists. “Leave Minseok out of this.” he growls.

“Oh, but how could we? He’s the reason this happened in the first place. Anyways, your father, mr. Shim and me spoke about this… misunderstanding. We agreed that the brutal beating you gave to Changmin was punishment enough for what he did, and we called you here because we want to make sure neither of you get into a situation like this again.”

“What about the situation Changmin made Minseok go through? Isn’t his safety the priority first? Who tells you he won’t do it against another omega?!”

“Lu Han, shut up.” his father commands.

“I don’t know why you keep defending him, Lu Han.” the chancellor says getting more serious. “Changmin here told me how your boyfriend offered himself to him when he was already mated with you. Isn’t that right? He wanted his help for his heat. How does that make you feel?”

“It wasn’t like that!” Lu Han yells.

Mr. Lee sighs exasperated. “My patience is running out, mr Lu. Kim Minseok will be expelled and that is final. Look at it as you want: for his own protection or the integrity of this school, he needs to be out. And your father here was very enthusiastic about this too, he says he’s willing to pay Kim Minseok a fair amount of money as a… how to put it, indemnification kind of thing.

The deep voice of his father interrupts the chancellor. “And I also said that if you oppose to this decision in any way, mr. Lee shouldn’t find any restraints to expel you too.”

Lu Han feels the ground opening at his feet and he’s falling, falling, falling.  

 

* * *

 

 


	6. Conclusion

* * *

 

 

Lu Han leaves the office feeling defeated.

He’s angry, frustrated, outraged and humiliated, all at once. He doesn’t know if he will ever be able to face Minseok again. He can’t help but feel guilty about all of this. Maybe if he didn’t destroy Changmin’s face that day… maybe if he could control himself _just for once_ , things would be different.

His feet take him to Minseok’s room anyways and he stands outside the omega’s door for several minutes. He doesn’t want to tell him, he doesn’t want to see Minseok’s beautiful eyes filled with disappointment. He doesn’t want his full and pink lips to form a pout instead of a smile.

Lu Han lifts his fist to knock on the door, when it opens abruptly.

“Are you going to stand there all day?” Minseok asks, with the smallest of smiles. “Come in.”

Of course, he probably smelled him through the door while Han waited there like an idiot for who knows what.

Lu Han sits on Minseok’s bed. He stares at his feet, shoulders down and face grim. It’s clear to the omega that something bad happened, but he waits for Lu Han to speak.

“I’m sorry.” is what he says after several minutes of silence.

“Why?” Minseok asks.

Lu Han swallows and shakes his head. “I… I just…”

The omega kneels in front of Lu Han, searching for his eyes. “Lu Han… look at me.”

When he does, and when the alpha finally locks eyes with his mate, he can’t stop the tears in time. “They… they are going to kick you out.”

Minseok’s face falls. “W-what? But… they can’t.”

Lu Han wipes the only tear that made it out with his sleeve. “They can do whatever the fuck they want.” he spats.

Minseok shakes his head in disbelief, he stands up and grabs his hair. There are a million thoughts going through his head. He doesn’t feel angry or sad yet, he’s just very surprised. And a little scared.

“But… I won the elections, people know what happened!” he stares at Lu Han again, noticing how beaten down his mate looks. “I won’t give up this easily, Lu Han… if you think I’ll stay with my arms crossed watching how they do as they please, then you don’t know me at all.”

Minseok looks as the perfect picture of resolution and strength, something the alpha is lacking off in this crucial time, and he smiles remembering the Minseok he hated so much only a few months ago when they fought at every single class.

“I know you won’t.” he says.

“Then why are you looking so… defeated? I can’t do this alone, I’m going to need you with me on this.” Minseok’s expression morphs into concern when Lu Han’s smiles falls.

“I want to and I will be by your side at all times, Min. You don’t have to doubt that but… not here.”

Minseok’s eyebrows furrow. “What do you mean?”

“I can’t stay here… I can’t stay in this university supported by my father’s money. I don’t want to take the firm, I don’t… I won’t be the kind of lawyer he is.” Han replies. His eyes look empty as he says this, but his voice does not waver. Minseok sits next to him once again and grabs one of Han’s hands between his own.

“Lu Han… what are you saying? You don’t have to leave your entire career behind because of what happened—”

“It’s not just that, Minseok.” Han interrupts him. “This is me realizing in what kind of environment I was raised in… it’s me realizing that every value I thought was correct, is not. Everything I believed in and what I became as I grew up… it’s not what I want anymore. None of this if what I want for my future, I won’t keep being part of such a disgusting community.”

“Then what do you want?”

“You.” Lu Han whispers, and his sincere eyes take Minseok by surprise. The omega’s face begins to redden when the alpha doesn’t look away. “You taught me so much in so little time. I want you by my side if… if you want me by your side too. But I already took the decision, Min. I can’t stay here.”

Minseok swallows heavily, slightly changing the topic and attention from himself. “So what are you going to do?”

Lu Han shrugs. “I have some money saved. It’s mine, my father doesn’t even know I have my own bank account… and it’s a good amount to get my own place and survive for a few months until I get a job.”

“And… and what about school?” Minseok caresses Han’s cheek softly.

“That will come later, I’m still young and my grades are good… I think I can find another university that’ll take me.”

Minseok smiles. The man in front of him looks the weakest Minseok has ever seen him, and the omega knows it must be something terribly difficult to him; to admit his defeat, to look vulnerable in front of his mate.  His decision is a hard one, and something only brave people dare to do. He’s leaving everything he believed in behind, rejecting a safe future for an unknown one and standing up to the one person that controlled his every move since he was a young child. In Minseok’s eyes, with his messy hair and sad eyes, Lu Han looks more attractive and manly than any other alpha he has ever met.

“I’m so proud of you.” the omega says, kissing Lu Han on the cheek and then his neck. “And I’m so… so in love with you.”

“What?” Lu Han turns his head around so fast he gets dizzy. Minseok is smiling at him, the same gummy smile Lu Han loves so much.

“What?” Minseok replies, giggling. It feels weird feeling this giddy in a time like this when he was told just a few minutes ago that he’s getting expelled. But when Lu Han is next to him, looking so firm and strong even if his entire world is crumbling, it’s hard not to react. And Minseok’s reaction is this one.

Giggling and confessing.

Lu Han kisses him deeply then, cupping Minseok’s face, tongues melting together and heart rate beginning to pick up.

“Every second I’m with you, I fall for you even more.” Lu Han whispers against Minseok’s lips.

“Did you get that line from a cheesy love song?” Minseok teases, locking their lips together once again.

“Don’t ruin it.” says Lu Han, and Minseok is happily to oblige and stay silent as Lu Han kisses him over and over again.

 

  
***

  
  


Minseok gets expelled the very next day. He wakes up to an official email from the university where they explain everything very vaguely, insisting about the university’s image and other bullshit Minseok doesn’t even try to understand.

He stands up slowly from the bed, trying not to wake Lu Han, and turns on his laptop.

Naked as he was born, he opens Facebook and writes. He does a statement about what happened, and he’s very calm about it. He doesn’t exaggerate any detail and he even posts a screenshot of the email.

_I was elected yesterday and today I am being expelled._

Minseok takes a break to look back at Lu Han still sleeping soundly on his bed.

_I asked you to trust me when you voted for me, and I will need your help again. Being a lawyer is my dream, protecting innocent people and doing things right is what I believe I was born to do, but now that dream is being ripped off by the same people that are protecting the person that tried to rape me._

Once he’s content with his message, he turns off his laptop and goes back to bed. The moment Lu Han feels Minseok’s warmness next to him, he sighs and wraps a protective arm around him.

“Min…” he mumbles.

“Yeah?”

But Lu Han is asleep again.

 

  
The message Minseok sends gets spread around campus so fast, that by the time they wake up again, the omega has 189 notifications on his phone, the students are already organizing pacific ways to revoke Minseok’s expulsion, and there are banners, Facebook groups and even memes with Changmin’s face on it doing inappropriate things to the chancellor of the school.

The omega can’t believe his eyes. He knew he would have support from them but he never imagined that it would get to this extent.

That morning, no one shows up to class in protest.

Lu Han hugs him and tells him that everything will go okay, but that he can’t stay because he has his own battle to fight. They kiss goodbye, and promise to each other to stay in touch during the day.

Before lunch, he gets another mail saying he has to leave the dorms immediately. He does but not before posting it on Facebook once again.

From then, things get a little crazy.

Minseok leaves the school while he’s being cheered by his classmates, and they promise to him that this is a fight he won’t have to fight on his own. He takes a bus to his mother’s home, two hours away from campus, and when he arrives, his mom is happily telling a journalist all about Minseok’s childhood.

“He was part of a debate group since he was ten years old.” she’s saying while showing Minseok’s childhood photographs. “Everywhere we went, he would share his opinions if he heard grown ups talk nasty things about omegas, and he even… oh! Son, you are here!”

Minseok smiles awkwardly at her mother, and the man in the room quickly introduces himself as a journalist from one of the most famous local papers in the country. “One of your classmates called us and we found your story so interesting and extraordinary, we want to do a whole coverage for this sunday’s edition.”

The omega smiles as calmly as he can, and sits next to his mother, ready to spill some truth.

  
  


***

 

“Man… I’m going to miss you.” Chanyeol sighs, filling boxes with Lu Han’s belongings.

“I’m still going to be around all the time, Yeol. No need to get sentimental.” the alpha smiles as well.

“Where are you going to stay for the meantime? You can always crash at my place.” Yifan says, going through Han’s things one by one and asking if he can keep the things he like.

“Thanks man. But I don’t want to intrude… I was thinking about staying at a hotel or something until I find a place of my own.” he opens his closet and begins folding his clothes. “Where’s Sehun by the way? I can’t believe he didn’t show up.”

Chanyeol giggles. “He’s in China at the moment, he went to see Zitao.”

Lu Han drops his clothes on the floor. “What?! And I’m _just_ hearing about this?!”

“Yeah, well… he didn’t want to make a huge deal out of it. Tao’s situation is so complicated at the moment.” Yifan replies. “He has a kid and that makes everything hard. He can escape but he would have to leave his child behind with his husband and that guy is… horrible. Who would do that?”

Lu Han’s heart drops. Didn’t his mother do that to him when he was just a little boy?

The picture of her smiling happily with her other family and kids, the one he saw on the internet when he was sixteen comes back crashing into his brain. What if his mother was in the same situation Zitao is right now? Is the love for a mate stronger than the love for one's kids? Stronger enough to abandon them and go away forever, and never looking back? How different Han’s life would be if she was still around or if she would’ve taken him with her.

A flash of Minseok with a pregnant belly appears in Lu Han’s mind. He shakes his head, and he sees another image, this time of Minseok with a small pup between his arms, smiling down at him.

“Earth to Han!” he hears Chanyeol saying. “Your phone is ringing!”

“Oh… yeah.” Han says, ignoring his friend’s laughs. It’s no one else than Minseok. “Hello?”

“ _Lu Han, do you know why there are 20 million won in my bank account?_ ”

“What?” he replies a little disoriented and ashamed after imagining Minseok pregnant. Suddenly he remembers his father saying something about giving the omega money to shut him up. “Oh, that may or may not be from my father.”

“ _Wow, I can’t believe this… No, you know what, I do believe it._ ” Minseok sounds amused through the phone. “ _This is perfect, Lu Han. It’s the last thing we need to take them down. I mean, I’m sure buying a student's silence that was a victim of attempted rape won’t look pretty on the papers._ ”

It seems like Lu Han finally understands what’s going on. “Oh, shit Min. We got them, then.”

They share a few words about how are they going to pull this off. Minseok tells him about the journalist and all the things happening at campus, things that Lu Han was a witness himself.

“ _Han, where are you going to stay until you find a place?_ ”

“I was thinking a hotel and um, Yifan also offered.” at this, the tall alpha smiles and does a thumbs up to Lu Han. The alpha on the phone snorts.

“ _Oh, um… I was asking because… Um… my mom, I told her about you and she—she insisted in you coming here so she can meet you, but… if you don’t want to that’s okay, I mean—_ ”

“I would love to.” Han says, smiling to himself. An awkward and hesitant Minseok is not something you hear everyday. “Just send me the adress and I’ll be there before dinner.”

“ _Great! Excellent, I’ll tell my mom. She’s gonna be thrilled_.” Minseok sounds nervous. “ _See you later, then?_ ”

“See you later.” Lu Han panics for a second, should he say something cute or romantic to end the conversation? The last time they saw each other they said they were in love with each other… Is this the right time? “I lo—”

“ _T-take care, bye!_ ” and Minseok hangs up.

Lu Han stares down at his phone and he can’t help but smile. He knows Minseok was going through the same mental breakdown as he was. He clutches the device to his chest, and sighs like cheesy teenage girls in love do.

When he turns around, he’s met with two pair of eyes staring at him with malice in their eyes and creepy smiles. He totally forgot Chanyeol and Yifan were in the room.

“Our Hannie is in love!!!!” Yifan says, screaming and fanning his gigantic fists in front of his face like a fangirl.

“Aw, how cute!!! Minseok and Lu Han!! Sitting on a tree~!” Chanyeol singsongs, doing the same thing.

Lu Han doesn’t even try to stop them.

  
  


***

  
  


Once his suitcases are done and all his belongings are safely placed on boxes by his loyal friends, and before leaving to Minseok’s house, the alpha walks to the same building he went to enroll as a candidate, and resigns.

“You understand that if you do this, none of the courses that you took here will have any validation. It’s like being expelled, mr Lu. If you want to go to another university, you’ll have to start all over.” the secretary warns him. She seems like a very nice and sympathetic young lady.

Han nods, and just like that, he’s out.

  
  


Minseok’s house is a small and cozy and Lu Han already loves it before he even goes inside.

It’s Minseok who opens the door for him, welcoming him with a smile and a short peck on the lips, and inviting him to come in. Lu Han can smell Minseok’s distinctive scent all over the place, mixed with another omega’s smell, one of a female, and delicious homemade food.

Minseok’s mother comes right after. She hugs Lu Han like he’s her own son, and she exclaims how handsome and tall the alpha is.

“I can’t believe my son had you hidden all to himself!” she jokes.

Lu Han walks inside and he spots  pictures of a happy family of three all over the walls. He assumes the young girl on the pictures must be Minseok’s sister. She looks exactly like his mate but with longer hair and softer features, and she’s smiling so beautifully in every single picture.

They have a lovely dinner. Minseok’s mom is so much fun and Lu Han can see exactly where his mate got his sense of humor from. She likes to tease and she laughs out loud to every joke Lu Han or Minseok say. She’s nothing like the women Han met during his lifetime: conceited and classist people that only laughed when it was mocking someone of a lower status.

Minseok’s mother doesn’t look like a woman that lost a kid. She looks positive and young, and for some reason she’s completely calm about the fact that Minseok got kicked out.

“My son is smart and he knows what he’s doing.” she had said proudly. “And if everything goes wrong, he will always have his home to come back to.”

For a few hours, it’s like the university doesn’t exist, neither does Changmin or Lu Han’s father. It’s just them, enjoying some quality time together with a nice lady that seems interested by every single fact Han has to share.

“Mom, stop interrogating him.” Minseok smiles, placing a hand on Han’s knee as an apology.

“Ah, that’s right. I’m sure you two want to have some coupley time on your own, right?”

At this, both Minseok and Lu Han choke on their drinks. Minseok’s mom just laughs and begins taking the plates to the kitchen.

“Oh, let me help you.” Han says standing up.

“Don’t worry honey, you are our guest. Just go and relax.”

 

  
Minseok’ room is everything Lu Han imagined. It’s the perfect representation of Minseok’s personality imprinted on a room, organized and clean. Lu Han has to retrain himself to the delicious smell, and instead he tries to focus his attention on the little details of Minseok all over the place. He has a couple of posters glued to the wall of pop idols Han recognizes, and Minseok blushes when Han points them out.

“It’s a reminder of my teen years.” he smiles, sitting on his bed.

Minseok has a desk with a few notebooks and pencil cases. It looks like a study place, neatly organized and made to focus. On one wall, there’s a tall bookcase filled to the top, and Han spots a photo frame that seems familiar. It’s a picture of Minseok and his sister, smiling at the camera. They are on a beach, and Minseok has sand on the tip of his nose.

“Is this your sister?” Han asks even though he already knows the answer.

“Yes.” Minseok replies softly. “That’s… the last picture we took together before…”

“I’m sorry.” Han puts the picture down and joins Minseok on his bed.

“Did you talk to your father?” Minseok asks, lying down.

“No. I want to avoid that conversation for as long as I can.” Lu Han stays sitting and runs his fingers through Minseok’s hair. “Hey, guess what.”

“Mmh?” Minseok hums with his eyes closed.

“Sehun is in China right now. He went to see Zitao.”

“That’s so amazing! I hope everything goes well.” Minseok smiles. He looks like a kitten, relaxing to Han’s touch and slowly falling asleep.

Lu Han’s hand goes down from his hair to his cheek, staying there for a while. Lu Han moves his thumb to caress Minseok’s plump and soft lips. Then he goes down, touching his neck softly with the tip of his fingers, going all the way down over Minseok’s arm and ending up pressing his hand flat on the omega’s belly. Minseok’s hand lands on top, keeping it there for a long while. The omega opens his eyes, and the couple shares a long look that only they understand.

It’s a look of complicity, of full understanding and trust. They trust each other and they know there’s no going back at this point. Their lives are already sealed by fate to each other. Lu Han interlocks his fingers with Minseok’s, never breaking eye contact. It’s not awkward or embarrassing. Instead, it’s like none of them can look away.

“I love you, Kim Minseok.” Han says, going down and sealing what just happened between them with a kiss.

“I love you too, Lu Han.” Minseok smiles.

  
  
  


It’s 3am when Lu Han just can’t help it anymore. He stands up and very quietly leaves the guest room to sneak into Minseok’s bedroom. Minseok’s mother got this room ready for him when she heard Han was going to stay with them, and even if Minseok protested, she said it was so their guest could sleep comfortably.

He knows it’s not a very respectful thing to do, —to go into his mate’s room when his mom is just on the other side of the wall—, but he can’t help it when this entire house smells so strongly of his omega.

And apparently Minseok is waiting for him because the second Han enters, the omega sits up from his bed.

“Hurry.” he whispers, opening the covers of his bed as an invitation.

Lu Han kisses Minseok immediately once he’s on top of him, sucking marks into his neck and rubbing his hard erection against the omega’s thigh. Minseok does this exquisite little sounds on the back of his throat, and even if Han wants nothing more than to make him scream, they can’t. “We have to be quiet.”

They feel like teenagers, sneaking into each other’s rooms, giggling and shushing the other when they get too loud.

At the end, Lu Han has to cover Minseok’s mouth with his hand as he takes him from behind, and Minseok drools all over it with every thrust of the alpha’s hips. The bed creaks, Minseok’s sure they are being louder than they think, but he doesn’t care. It’s so exciting to do it like this, he feels like a wild animal being mounted on fours on his childhood bed, while his mate fucks him mercilessly letting out a smell that makes Minseok delirious.

  
  
  
  


“That’s exactly what I’m saying, dad.” Lu Han says to the phone. He sounds angry and stressed, and even if he’s trying to be as quiet as possible, Minseok wakes up to his distressed voice. “Oh, and you let that pretty clear the last time we saw each other.”

He’s grabbing his hair while listening to his father scream on the phone, and he does a little jump when he feels a small hand on his shoulder. Minseok smiles at him, giving him silent support.

“If you want me to take the firm and go back, then I think you know what you have to do.” Han says while staring at his mate straight in the eye. “Convince the chancellor to take Minseok back _and_ expel Changmin.”

“Lu Han…” Minseok whispers with wide open eyes.

“If you don’t do that, then we have nothing to talk about father.”

And he hangs up.

“Han, why did you do that?” Minseok asks stunned. “I don’t want you to do that for me… you don’t want to work for him or take the firm, why did you do it?!”

Lu Han sighs, hugging Minseok and burying his face on his neck. “I guess I never learn.”

 

***

  
  


They don’t hear anything from the school for a couple of days, but Lu Han gets a text from Sehun saying he’s back in Korea , asking him to go to his place as quick as he can. The alpha was already considering leaving Minseok’s house so his mother wouldn’t feel burdened, and this feels like the perfect opportunity even if he enjoyed _way too much_ the stay.

He leaves on a sunday, the same day that Minseok’s interview is published on the paper. He buys a copy and reads it on the way to Sehun’s place.

The journalist really outdid himself. The whole coverage is perfect. It leaves the chancellor and the university as the worst entity of the country and they insist over and over the fact that Minseok is a victim of attempted rape. Lu Han would pay to see his father’s face while reading this. This is the perfect way of pressuring them to take Minseok back and expel Changmin once and for all.

He feels light and happy when he makes it to Sehun’s apartment. His friend is one of the few that doesn’t stay at the dorms and instead has his own place.

When Sehun opens the door, _devastated_ doesn’t even begin to cover the way he looks.

He looks like the definition of the walking dead.

“Tao won’t leave him.” he says before Lu Han can ask what happened. “He can’t take his kid out of the country…”

“Oh, Sehunnie.” Han hugs his friend and they go inside the apartment like that, Sehun crying on his friend’s shoulder. For several minutes, Sehun does that. He cries. He can’t even form words and Lu Han comforts him in the only way he can, running his hand up and down his friend’s back and whispering words of encouragement, even if at this point he’s unsure if Sehun is listening to him at all. After giving him a glass of water with two tablespoons of sugar, Sehun finally begins to calm down.

“It’s over.” Sehun whispers with a raspy voice. “He said it’s over forever… that this would be the last time we saw each other.”

Lu Han stays silent, listening to everything Sehun says.

“He said he would rather live a painful life than leave his son behind… and I… I understand him, so I’ll respect his decision, I will! But… it hurts, hyung. It hurts so bad.”

The alpha really doesn’t know what to say. ‘I’m sorry’ seems like it’s not enough and ‘It will go away’ seems like a lie. So he just does what he thinks Sehun needs. He hugs him tight, listens to him, and at the end of the night, they cuddle on Sehun’s bed. No one will ever know they did it, because both Sehun and Lu Han have a manly reputation to keep, but if this comforts his friend, then Han doesn’t give a damn about what everyone may or may not think.

“You are so lucky, hyung.” Sehun mumbles half asleep.

“I know.” Lu Han whispers, running his hand between Sehun’s locks. The younger is laying with his head on Han’s chest, listening to his heartbeat and imagining it’s Tao’s.

“But not all of us get our happy ending.”

Lu Han looks out of the window. There’s a full moon. He doesn’t reply.

  
  


***

  
  


On monday morning, something amazing happens.

Minseok gets invited to a meeting with the chancellor of one of the most important universities of the country, even bigger and more prestigious than the one he was kicked out from.

“I read all about your case on the paper yesterday and I was left astonished. It made me realize that the discrimination against omegas is still going strong, even if we sometimes don’t want to admit it.”

Minseok nods. “Yes, sir. I’ve dedicated myself to teach people about this. And… and even if they tried to shut me up, it gives me more strength to keep going.”

“And I think that’s remarkable, mr Kim. Let me explain to you why I invited you here today.” the chancellor says, taking a folder from a drawer and giving it to the omega. “I want to offer you a full scholarship to study Law here. I think you are an example not only for the omega community, but for our society entirely, and we have a project here of turning this university into a friendly environment for omegas and well, everybody. I think if you join us, we could so something important together.”

Minseok stares at the folder in his hands and then back at the man in front of him in disbelief.

“Sir, this is… This is amazing.”

“So? Is that a yes?”

“Of course.” Minseok stands up and makes a 90 degree bow. They shake hands as the omega thanks him over and over again for the amazing opportunity.

Once he leaves, he immediately calls Lu Han.

“ _Minseok, you are not gonna believe this!_ ” his mate says before even saying hello.

“I thought I was the one with big news.” Minseok laughs. “You first, what happened?”

_“My father called me. They kicked Changmin out and they are willing to take you back! Well, the condition is that I will have to come back too and take the firm but… it’s just a small sacrifice, right? The important thing is that you can get your education away from that asshole and everybody heard about it already so there’s no way in hell he will ever come back!”_

Minseok feels butterflies in his stomach, he wants to jump and scream because what he’s feeling at the moment cannot be contained. He can’t keep the surprise to himself anymore.  

“Han... I don’t think that will be necessary.”

  
  


***

  
  


“So, when do you start your new classes?”

They are walking hand by hand on the park in front Minseok’s new college. It’s a beautiful place that looks even more romantic during the fall. The omega looks gorgeous in the yellow light, and Lu Han admires the way his black hair moves with the wind.

“In a couple of weeks. I’m going to start later than everyone so I will have a lot of catch up to do.”

Lu Han squeezes Minseok’s hand a little tighter. “You’ll be fine.”

They sit on a bench, admiring the way the leaves move. Minseok curls up to Lu Han’s side when a rush of cold wind makes him shiver, and the alpha hugs him to keep his mate warm.

“Make sure to apply here, Han. When you finally decide what you want to do.”

Lu Han didn’t go back to school as he said he was going to do, and instead he decided to take a year or so to figure out if he really wanted to be a lawyer. He liked it before, but during his lifetime everybody assumed he was meant to be one. So, even if he finally decides to pick Law again, he wants to feel like he had a choice.  

“Of course I will. I need to keep an eye on you and scare the other alphas away.” Lu Han says, and Minseok laughs even if he knows his mate is not joking.

They stay like that for a while, enjoying the afternoon.

“This feels nice.” Minseok says, closing his eyes.

“It does.”

If a year ago someone said to Lu Han that in the future his favorite pastime would be spending his days with Minseok, just enjoying each other’s company, he would have laughed until passing out.

“Hey, Min.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you want to have a baby with me?”

And now, Minseok is the one almost passing out. “What?!”

Lu Han scratches his neck and laughs awkwardly. “I mean, not _right now_. But… eventually. It’s just that after what happened to Sehun, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, you know?”

“That’s surprising.” Minseok jokes.

“This is serious!” Lu Han tickles Minseok’s side. “Sehun said I was lucky… and I think he’s right. We are lucky, we are mates and we found each other. What’s the chance of that happening, right?”

“I agree.”

Lu Han locks eyes with the omega. His omega. “So… would you? In the future.”

Minseok smiles. “Would I what?”

The alpha knows Minseok is teasing him again. “Start a family, get married, have kids. All of that. With me.”

“Before I say yes…” Minseok sits up straight. “I just want to make sure you have clear that _you’ll_ be the one staying home taking care of the kids.”

Lu Han shrugs. “Um, duh!I wouldn’t be asking you if I didn’t know that. And you know what? I’m not even mad about it.”

Minseok laughs out loud and kisses Lu Han’s lips. “Then, yes.”

“Can we start doing them right now, then?” the alpha asks between kisses.

Minseok doesn’t even stop kissing him to reply. “Here? In public? Didn’t know you were this kinky.”

“There are a lot of things you know about me, yet.” Han stands up, bringing Minseok with him. “Voyeurism is not one of them, though. Let’s go to my place... I have a brand new mattress waiting for us.”

Minseok smiles in bliss. Lu Han is so sexy and seductive when he wants to, and Minseok doesn’t know how to express what he feels everytime they are together, everytime they touch. He feels indestructible when he’s with Lu Han, and ready to fight anything that might come his way.  

He can’t wait to see what the future holds for them.

 

 

_The End._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! :)


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